The life science instrumentation (LSI) market is the largest technology sector of the instrument market. It accounts for nearly a quarter of total analytical instruments demand and includes a broad spectrum of technologies grouped into 13 technology categories. In 2013, the LSI market increased 3.3% to $11.1 billion. Most LSI technologies are heavily reliant on aftermarket products, such as consumables, reagents, kits and chemicals. The LSI market is forecast to increase 4.1% to $11.6 billion in 2014.

The public sector, which is comprised of academia and government research, represents nearly half of the LSI market. Its demand is driven by strong support for sequencing and other genomics research. Advancements in sequencing technology are opening up new applications and opportunities, particularly in molecular diagnostics, which is expected to drive growth over the next few years. The biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries are also important sectors due to applications involving pharmacogenomics, companion diagnostics, biomarker discovery and target validation.

The US and Europe represented the lion’s share of the LSI market in 2013, and demand continues to increase, especially as instruments like next generation sequencers (NGS) cross into the IVD market. Also, demand in Asia has grown significantly during the last few years, and this is expected to continue in 2014. China, Singapore and many other Asia Pacific countries continue to invest in biotech, which will drive solid growth for LSI.

The top five vendors accounted for about 52% of LSI demand in 2013. Life Technologies leads the sector with 21% market share, and Illumina ranks second with 11%.

PCR is the largest segment of LSI, with 21% of the total market. Led by Life and Bio-Rad Laboratories, this market is projected to grow 3.2% in 2014. The second-largest segment, nucleic acid purification and cell separation, accounts for 18%. Demand is expected to increase 3.6% this year fueled by clinical research and molecular diagnostics applications.

The sequencer market, the next-largest market, is the most dynamic of the LSI markets and is dominated by Illumina and Life. Personal genome sequencers are beginning to tap into the applied testing and coveted molecular diagnostics markets, driving market growth of 9.3% in 2014.

Flow cytometry market growth is forecast to be 2.3% this year due to cell-based research, and biotech and bioprocess applications. Other cell-based instrument technologies are also experiencing strong growth, including high-content screening systems and imagers, electrophysiology and patch clamp systems, and cell counters.

The in vivo animal imaging market is projected to increase 7.9% in 2014 due to use in preclinical drug discovery. Innovative contrast agents and application-specific systems are expected to drive growth.

In contrast to other LSI segments, demand for microarrays is expected to decline in 2014. DNA microarray technology remains a vital tool for gene expression analysis and genotyping. Opportunities in molecular cytogenetics, copy number analysis and array comparative genomic hybridization are expected to fuel demand.