After taking a slight hit in 2009, the cell analysis research market is expected to be back on track for growth in 2010, according to Strategic Directions International’s “Cell Analysis Techniques, Market Forecast 2010–2014”. For the year, the cell analysis research market’s growth is estimated to be in the high single digits, and will reach nearly $4 billion. The market’s predicted growth can be attributed to a rise in system replacements, increased activity in the biotechnology industry, the continued focus on stem cell research, and advances in basic research. For the purposes of this article, products for cell analysis research fall into three categories: instruments, cell culture products and equipment.

The cell analysis laboratory instrument segment has historically been the fastest-growing segment in the entire cell analysis research market due to high levels of interest in research flow cytometry and High-Content Screening (HCS), and this is expected to hold true in 2010. The market is predicted to grow in the low double digits to more than $1.5 billion for the year. The cell analysis laboratory instrument segment is made up of six subsegments: research flow cytometry, HCS, microscopy (which includes confocal microscopy and other surface science techniques), microplate readers, electrophysicology/patch clamp systems, and other techniques.

It is predicted that a majority of this category’s sales in 2010 will be related to research flow cytometry. The research flow cytometry subsegment is expected to grow in the low double digits in 2010 to about $850 million. Growth will be driven by an increase in interest in cell-based analysis, continued support for stem cell applications, and government stimulus funding. The research flow cytometry subsegment contains two types of systems: high-end sorters and analyzers, and smaller compact cytometers. A majority of research flow cytometers sold in 2010 are expected to be high-end sorters and analyzers, but sales of compact cytometers are expected to grow in the double digits due to an increase in their use in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries. BD Biosciences is the largest vendor in the high-end research flow cytometer market. Numerous companies now compete in the relatively new compact flow cytometer market.

HCS is expected to be the fastest-growing subsegment within the cell analysis laboratory instrument segment. HCS sales are estimated to grow in the mid-double digits for 2010 to nearly $200 million. Sales of initial HCS systems plummeted in 2009 due to high system costs in an economic environment where laboratory budget cuts were rampant. The sales growth in 2010 will be helped in the near term by government stimulus. In addition, prices for initial systems are expected to drop due to market consolidation. Through acquisitions, companies such as PerkinElmer and Thermo Fisher Scientific, now provide more competition to MDS, the HCS market leader, causing system prices to drop.

Although accounting for a small percentage of the cell analysis laboratory instrument market, electrophysiology/patch clamp instruments are predicted to have the second fastest sales growth rate in the segment in 2010, with growth estimated in the low double digits for 2010 to nearly $70 million. Overall, drug discovery and stem cell–research applications are expected to be the largest driving forces behind this subsegment’s growth in the long term.

The cell culture product segment, which excludes products for industrial bioproduction applications, is composed of three subsegments: sera, media and reagents; glassware and plastics; and lab fermentors and bioreactors. The segment’s overall growth for 2010 is expected to be in the high single digits to almost $1.5 billion.

In 2010, sales of cell culture media, sera and reagents for cellular research are expected to account for a majority of cell culture product sales. In addition to being the largest subsegment of the cell culture product market, this subsegment is also the fastest growing, with sales projected to rise in the low double digits to about $1.0 billion by 2012. Sales of media make up the majority of this subsegment. Double-digit growth in 2010 should push media sales to nearly $350 million due to increased demand for serum-free media.

The cell analysis equipment market is made up of five subsegments: transfection equipment; incubators, shakers and water baths; cell-separation equipment; liquid handling and robotics; and other equipment, which includes basic equipment such as centrifuges and colony counters. Overall, cell analysis equipment sales are expected to grow in the high single digits this year to more than $1.1 billion.

The transfection subsegment is one of the fastest-growing segments of cell analysis equipment. Transfection, which can be done by lipofection, viral vectors or electroporation, is expected to make up the majority of cell analysis equipment sales in 2010 and will grow in the high-single digits to nearly $400 million for the year. The market’s solid growth is primarily due to continued demand for high-throughput electroporation systems. However, low-throughput systems are expected to account for a higher percentage of the market’s sales in 2010 than high-throughput systems, growing in the low double digits to nearly $30 million. In 2010, the aftermarket is expected to account for more than three-quarters of the transfection market sales due to a high demand for reagents and electroporation accessories. Life Technologies is the leading vendor of transfection reagents, with Roche trailing as a far second.

The market for incubators, shakers and water baths will account for a large share of cell analysis equipment demand in 2010. Growth for the three types of equipment in the subsegment ranges from the low to high single digits. In 2010, total sales of incubators, shakers and water baths for cell analysis research are predicted to be nearly $300 million. Although sales for this subsegment declined slightly in 2009, growth is expected to be strong in the near term due to stimulus funding. Thermo Fisher Scientific accounts for over half of the market share among vendors, and is the leading provider in all product categories.

Chart: Sales for Two Cell Analysis Instrument Subsegments

2009 2010 2011

Research Flow Cytometry $757 $849 $945

High-Content Screening $162 $187 $214

Chart: Lab Instruments Segment in Total Cell Analysis Market

Lab Instruments $1,508

Non- Instrument $2,470

Chart: Sales for Cell Culture Media, Sera and Reagents Subsegment

2009 2010 2011

Cell Culture Media, Sera and Reagents $761 $850 $931