Proteomics research market estimated to reach $1.6 billion this year

Pharmaceutical companies and diagnostics companies spend billions developing new drugs and tests, and this is translating into a sizeable market for the instruments that can assist them. This according to Kalorama Information, a healthcare market research publisher. Kalorama Information said instruments such as mass spectrometry, electrophoresis and liquid chromatography that can assist in the identification of drug targets and the validation of biomarkers, are in demand. Along with related equipment and consumables, the market for proteomics research is estimated to reach nearly 1.6 billion dollars this year according to Kalorama Information's report, Proteomics Research Markets.

Proteomics is only one strand of life sciences research or a field that is comprehensively tasked with elucidating various biological molecules in terms of their structure and interaction within cells and organisms. The report notes that the backbone of proteomics research is formed by electrophoresis and liquid chromatography (LC) for sample fractionation and analytical separation and mass spectrometry (MS) for protein resolution, identification, characterization, and quantitative analysis. Proteomics research on these instruments is increasingly involved in the development of modern clinical medicine from the identification of drug targets, the validation of biomarkers, and optimization of resulting drug leads and assays.The considerable investment in drug development is driving these related instrument markets:

"The focus on developing new biopharmaceuticals has increased the focus on instruments capable of powerfully assaying and identifying proteins implicated in disease pathways," said Emil Salazar, author of the report.

The report says that Most proteomics research labs rely upon one or three available systems for the performance of gel electrophoresis; one to two systems for liquid-phase or off-gel isoelectric focusing (IEF); one or two preparative (off-line) high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) systems; multiple in-line analytical HPLC systems often coupled with compatible lab MS systems; and various MS systems necessary for chosen institutional studies or workflows.

Among the "omics," proteomics trails only the fields of genomics and transcriptomics in terms of maturity and heft in research investment. The proteomics research market has developed from the demands of life science for highly multiplexed, accurate and sensitive detection and quantitation of proteins in biological samples.

Kalorama Information found that mass spectrometry instruments represent a leading budget item for proteomics labs, followed by the appreciable overall costs of HPLC systems. Continued improvement in MS performance parameters in terms of resolution, instrument speed and sensitivity are expected to sustain the value of mass spectrometry in proteomics research through 2020.

Kalorama Information's report, Proteomics Research Markets contains important data for business planners and investors, including: current practices in drug discovery, translational research workflow, proteomics in biomarker research, biomarker discovery, verification, validation , company market shares by research instrument, company revenues and detailed product offerings and analyst conclusions regarding the present and future market.

SOURCE Kalorama Information