The market for clinical chemistry tests is projected to grow at 3% for the next five years from the current USD 17.8 billion to USD 19.7 billion in 2021. The major developed economies (US, Canada, West European countries, Australia, and Japan) together will account for almost 60 percent of the overall market due to their advanced medical delivery systems and widespread health insurance coverage of their residents. However, the demand in the developing countries will grow at a faster pace, driven by the expansion and upgrade of medical delivery systems and improvement in the availability and accessibility of basic patient testing services. These are the latest findings of Kalorama Information, (New York, NY, USA), an independent medical market research firm.
Out of the three major groups of clinical chemistry products, reagents, supporting consumables, and instruments used in general chemistry, blood gas and electrolyte measurement, and urinalysis procedures will hold the largest revenue share in the long-term. Among clinical chemistry-related products, immunoassay reagents and instruments adaptable to core laboratory workstations will record the fastest sales growth, led by advances in instrument capabilities and expansion of testing menus. The increasing applications of clinical chemistry for the diagnosis of cancer, heart disorders, infectious and viral diseases, infertility, and various other medical conditions will underlie gains. Most of the demand will be driven by applications in regular patient physical examinations and pre- and post-hospital admission testing, although this product group will record below average sales growth due to the commodity, price-sensitive nature of most reagents and the instrument markets reaching maturity stage in the major countries.
The US is expected to remain the largest national market for clinical chemistry products, accounting for over one-fourth of the global demand in 2021, or more than USD 5.1 billion. Aging demographic patterns, high healthcare spending intensity, high receptiveness of medical providers to new reagents and instruments, and overall trends promoting the use of patient tests to detect diseases in the early, more treatable stages will help the US maintain its leading position.
Western Europe, Japan and other developed economies will also continue to provide a high and diverse volume of clinical chemistry testing, although tighter national health insurance-imposed cost controls will keep per capita demand for related reagents and instruments below the US levels. The demand for clinical chemistry products in the developing world will increase at a faster pace as compared to the developed world, as countries upgrade and expand their health care systems. This will provide a boost to the volume of patient testing, particularly in the large growing economies of Brazil, China, India, and Russia. However, most of the demand for clinical chemistry products in the developing world will be for lower value-added reagents and instruments for basic health screening due to limited availability of healthcare funding and less advanced nature of medical delivery systems in most developing countries.
