Life Science Instrumentation: Cell-Based Research Rises
The life science instrumentation (LSI) market is the largest technology sector, accounting for about a quarter of the total analytical instruments industry. It encompasses a broad spectrum of technologies grouped into 13 categories.
Unlike most other instrument markets, the LSI market is heavily reliant on the aftermarket. Consumables, reagents, kits and other aftermarket products make up nearly two-thirds of the LSI market.
The public sector, which is comprised of academia and government research, represents nearly half of the LSI market, driven by strong support for sequencing and cell-based research. Advancements in sequencing technology are opening up new applications and opportunities in research and clinical labs. The biotech industry and pharmaceutical industry are important sectors due to applications involving biomarkers, target validation, pharmacogenomics and high-throughput screening.
Demand in Asia has grown significantly during the last few years and this is expected to continue in 2013. China, Singapore and many other Asia Pacific countries continue to invest in biotech, including stem cell and genomic research, that will drive solid growth for LSI sales.
The sequencing market is perhaps the most publicized of the LSI techniques. Next-generation and high-throughput sequencers continue to drive market growth in academia and pharmaceutical labs. Sequencer technology continues to advance at a torrid pace, particularly with the introduction of benchtop genome sequencers, which are expected to tap into the applied testing and coveted molecular diagnostics markets.
Demand for cell-based research instruments continues to rise due to biotech and bioprocess applications. As a result, the markets for high-content screening/imagers, electrophysiology/patch clamp, and cell counters are experiencing robust growth. The market for in vivo animal imaging is fueled by preclinical drug discovery. Informatics sales are driven by enterprise software platforms. Sales of nucleic acid purification products and cell separation techniques are fueled by clinical research and molecular diagnostics applications.
Demand for microarray technology has plateaued as researchers have redirected their attention to sequencing technology. Although the market is expected to increase slightly in 2013, microarray technology remains a vital tool for expression analysis and genotyping. Growth is buoyed by opportunities in molecular cytogenetics, copy number analysis and array comparative genomic hybridization.
The label-free detection market is fueled by sales growth in biotech and pharmaceutical industries and demand for high-throughput systems. Electrophoresis sales should be driven by solid demand for documentation systems.
Life Science Instrumentation Market Leaders
PCR Life Technologies, Bio-Rad
Nucleic Acid Prep. and Cell Sep. QIAGEN, Life Technologies
Sequencing Illumina, Life Technologies
Flow Cytometry Becton, Dickinson; Beckman Coulter (Danaher)
Microarrays Illumina, Affymetrix
Electrophoresis GE Healthcare, Bio-Rad
In Vivo Animal Imaging PerkinElmer, Siemens
Informatics Accelrys, Certara (Tripos)
Synthesizers GE Healthcare, Life Technologies
High-Content Screening Molecular Devices (Danaher), GE Healthcare
Label-Free Detection GE Healthcare, ForteBio (Pall)
Electrophys./Patch Clamp Molecular Devices (Danaher), Sophion (Biolin)
Cell Counters Beckman Coulter (Danaher), Life Technologies
Pie Chart: 2012 Life Science Instrumentation Suppliers’ Market Shares
Life Tech. 21%
Illumina 10%
BD 8%
QIAGEN 7%
GE 6%
Other 48%
Bar Graph: 2011–2014 Total Life Science Instrumentation Market
2011 2012 2013 2014
$ Millions 10,509 10,663 11,061 11,477
Pie Chart: 2012 Life Science Instrumentation Market by Product Type
Aftermarket 65%
Initial Systems 28%
Service 7%
Life Science Instrumentation 2012–2013
2012 Market Share 2013 Growth Rate
PCR 21.1% 3.8%
Nucleic Acid Prep. and Cell Sep. 17.8% 4.0%
Sequencing 14.7% 2.4%
Flow Cytometry 13.2% 4.0%
Microarrays 9.5% 1.1%
Electrophoresis 7.7% 2.1%
In Vivo Animal Imaging 4.5% 9.0%
Informatics 4.1% 4.4%
Synthesizers 2.2% 4.7%
High-Content Screening 2.0% 7.2%
Label-Free Detection 1.6% 5.7%
Electrophys./Patch Clamp 0.8% 8.2%
Cell Counters 0.8% 11.1%
Total 100.0% 3.7%