GLOBAL PRECLINICAL IMAGING MARKET SIZE AND SHARE ANALYSIS - GROWTH TRENDS AND FORECASTS (2024-2031)

Global preclinical imaging market was valued at US$ 4.25 Bn in 2023 and is expected to reach US$ 6.39 Bn by 2031, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.2% from 2024 to 2031.

Preclinical imaging helps researchers study biological processes at the molecular, cellular, and tissue levels and aids in understanding the disease development and progression. Techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), ultrasound, micro-CT and photoacoustic imaging are increasingly being used in preclinical research as they provide high resolution anatomical and functional information in a non-invasive and non-destructive manner. Advancements in imaging contrast agents and probes have further improved imaging capabilities. With growing funding for preclinical research from governments and private sectors, the adoption of preclinical imaging modalities is expected to rise significantly in the near future.   

Global Preclinical Imaging Market- Regional Insights

• North America is expected to be the largest market for preclinical imaging during the forecast period, accounting for over 35.7% of the market share in 2023. The preclinical imaging market in North America is driven by increasing drug development activities and rising demand for non-invasive techniques for studying disease pathology.
• Asia Pacific market is expected to be the second-largest market for preclinical imaging market, accounting for over 25.2% of the market share in 2023. The Asia Pacific preclinical imaging market is witnessing significant growth due to rising incidence of diseases and increasing investments in research & development (R&D) by pharmaceutical companies.
• Europe market is expected to be the fastest-growing market for preclinical imaging market, with a share of 19.0% during the forecast period. The Europe preclinical imaging market has been witnessing steady growth driven by factors such as rising focus on personalized medicine. However, high costs of preclinical imaging systems are a major challenge, thus limiting widespread adoption.

Figure 1. Global Preclinical Imaging Market Share (%), By Region, 2023

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Analyst View: Global preclinical imaging market continues to grow steadily driven by increasing research activities in life science sector. North America dominates the market due to the presence of majority leading players and highest research expenditure. Rising emphasis on personalized medicine and drug development presents a strong opportunity for preclinical imaging vendors. Ongoing technological advancements leading to newer and advanced imaging modalities with high resolution and accuracy are increasing adoption. Nevertheless, budget constraints remain a key challenge for research institutions and pharmaceutical companies in certain regions.

Global Preclinical Imaging Market- Drivers

• Growing prevalence of chronic and infectious diseases: Growing burden of chronic and infectious diseases across the globe is a major factor driving the growth of the global preclinical imaging market. With rising life expectancy and changing lifestyle trends, non-communicable diseases like cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and neurological disorders are on the rise. For instance, in January 2022, according to the report provided by the American Cancer Society, there will be an estimated 1.9 Bn new cancer cases diagnosed and 609,360 cancer deaths in the U.S.
• Technological advancements in preclinical imaging modalities: Technological advancements in preclinical imaging modalities is a key driver for the growth of the global preclinical imaging market. Over the past decade, there have been significant innovations in the modalities that are being used for preclinical imaging such as bioluminescence, fluorescence, micro-computed tomography, micro-MRI, micro-PET and micro-ultrasound that have enabled researchers to gain deeper insights into disease progression as well as drug responses in small animal models at a cellular and molecular level. These advanced modalities provide high resolution structural and functional information which was not possible before.
• Increasing pharmaceutical and biotechnology research and development (R&D) expenditure: Increasing expenditure in pharmaceutical and biotechnology research and development is a major factor contributing to the growth of the global preclinical imaging market. As companies invest more heavily in developing new drug candidates and advancing their pipelines, there is greater need for advanced preclinical imaging modalities to aid in the research. Preclinical imaging allows researchers to visualize biological processes at the molecular and cellular levels in living subjects. This provides invaluable insights to assess how effectively drug candidates are working as intended in animal models before progressing to human clinical trials. With higher R&D budgets, companies are able to invest in the latest preclinical imaging technologies such as micro-CT, multi-modality, and fluorescent optical imaging systems.

Global Preclinical Imaging Market- Opportunities

• Combination of preclinical imaging with nanotechnology: Combination of preclinical imaging with nanotechnology could provide several opportunities to drive innovations in global preclinical imaging Nanotechnology allows developing novel molecular imaging probes and contrast agents to visualize complex biological processes at cellular and molecular levels. This high resolution imaging enables longitudinal tracking of disease progression and therapeutic response with minimum invasiveness. For example, gold nanoparticles functionalized with tumor targeting ligands helped in the early detection of pancreatic cancer in mice models. Such targeted nano probes when combined with multimodal imaging systems like positron emission tomography/ computed tomography (PET/CT) and PET/MRI allows for monitoring treatment efficacy with high precision.
• Multimodality imaging systems: Multimodality imaging systems offer a promising opportunity in the global preclinical imaging market. These systems employ multiple modalities such as PET, Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT), CT and MRI together to provide comprehensive anatomical and functional information from a single scan. This integrated approach brings tremendous clinical value over single-modality systems. Traditionally, researchers had to move samples between different single-modality machines to gain a multi-parametric view, which is time-consuming and labor-intensive. Multimodality imaging systems eliminate the need for this serial imaging workflow by acquiring different dataset types concurrently. This streamlines the research process significantly. For example, researchers studying disease progression can observe anatomical changes via CT along with molecular alterations through PET in one session itself.

Global Preclinical Imaging Market- Trends

• Increasing popularity of positron emission tomography (PET) imaging: Increasing popularity of PET imaging is significantly impacting the global preclinical imaging market. Positron emission tomography or PET imaging has been gaining widespread acceptance over the forecast period for its high sensitivity and ability to provide functional or metabolic information at the molecular and cellular levels. PET imaging allows researchers to uncover biological processes in living subjects and gain valuable insights into the onset and progression of diseases. With the rising number of drug discovery and development activities globally, preclinical PET imaging is being extensively used in evaluating drug distribution and pharmacokinetics as well as detecting drug targets in small living subjects like mice and rats during various preclinical research phases.
• Adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud technologies: Adoption of artificial intelligence and cloud technologies is having a significant impact on the global preclinical imaging market. These advanced technologies are enabling more sophisticated and powerful preclinical imaging systems that can generate high quality images and perform complex analyses. AI and machine learning algorithms are being integrated into preclinical imaging devices. This allows for automated image capture, enhanced image reconstruction, more accurate segmentation of anatomical structures, and enhanced detection of abnormalities or differences in preclinical studies over time.
• Miniaturization of imaging systems: The rapid advancement in miniaturization of imaging systems has significantly influenced the preclinical imaging market over the forecast period. The development of highly miniaturized and portable imaging devices for preclinical applications has opened up many new opportunities for life sciences research. Devices such as micro-CT, micro-MRI and micro-PET scanners that can fit on a laboratory bench top have greatly boosted the adoption of advanced imaging modalities among small labs and research institutes. The availability of compact yet powerful tabletop preclinical imaging systems with high resolution capabilities have made it possible to conduct complex small animal experiments involving molecular imaging and longitudinal studies even at institutes with limited infrastructure for larger whole body imaging devices. This has led to wider dissemination of imaging technologies among research communities.

Global Preclinical Imaging Market - Restraints

• High cost of preclinical imaging modalities: High cost of preclinical imaging modalities is a major factor restraining the growth of the global preclinical imaging market. Preclinical imaging modalities such as MRI, ultrasound, X-ray, optical imaging, and others require huge capital investments for purchasing the sophisticated imaging systems as well as high maintenance costs. The maintenance and service contracts generally cost 10-15% of the total equipment price annually. Technical expertise is also required to operate these complex preclinical imaging systems which increase the overall operational costs. Smaller research organizations and academic institutes often find it difficult to bear such high capital and operational expenses for advanced preclinical imaging. This poses significant budgetary challenges for them to routinely adopt newer and improved preclinical imaging modalities for research purposes.

Counterbalance: To counterbalance this restraint, the key market players need to focus on reducing the high maintenance costs of the preclinical imaging modalities.

• Stringent regulations for product approval: Stringent regulations for product approval are certainly restraining the growth of global preclinical imaging market. The process of getting new imaging technologies approved for use in clinical research is extremely long and complicated. Device manufacturers have to submit massive documentation covering all aspects of the product such as its design, safety, effectiveness, and others. They need to perform extensive testing and validation on animals to demonstrate the technology is safe and works as intended before it can be used on human subjects. This approval process takes 3 to 7 years on an average which discourages innovation.

Figure 2. Global Preclinical Imaging Market Share (%), By End User, 2023

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Global Preclinical Imaging Market- Recent Developments

Product Launch

• On September 05, 2023, Revvity, Inc., a biotechnology company, launched its enhanced imaging portfolio that is designed to drive innovation across diverse applications in preclinical research with the launch of three systems. These new innovations include the next-generation IVIS Spectrum 2 and the IVIS SpectrumCT 2 imaging systems, QuantumTM GX3 microCT structural imaging solution, and Vega ultrasound system.

• In May 2022, FUJIFILM VisualSonics Inc., a global leader in ultrahigh frequency photoacoustic and ultrasound imaging systems, introduced the Vevo F2 multi-modal, a groundbreaking photoacoustic and ultrasound imaging system that is designed for preclinical use. The Vevo F2 is the world's first system to offer an ultra-high to low-frequency range (71MHz-1MHz), thereby providing researchers with unparalleled imaging versatility.
• In May 2022, Bruker Corporation, a medical device company, launched innovative 7 Tesla and 9.4 Tesla conduction-cooled Maxwell magnets for its market-leading preclinical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems portfolio. The new range of Maxwell7 Tesla and 9.4 Tesla magnets eliminates the need for liquid Helium or Nitrogen refills, while offering high-field sensitivity and resolution for advanced preclinical MRI and PET/MR research.

Business Development Activities by the Market Players

• On June 20, 2023, Motilent Limited, a technology start-up and Minerva Imaging announced a strategic partnership to re-envision the translational research in digestive disease research. Minerva Imaging is a global leader in preclinical in vivo imaging, specializing in advanced techniques including MRI, PET & nuclear medicine in a range of preclinical models.

• In April 16, 2023, Scintica, a leading value-added reseller of advanced preclinical research instrumentation, announced a new collaboration with Bioemtech, a company dedicated to desktop SPECT, PET, and optical scanners for use in preclinical research. The partnership aims to expand the availability of Bioemtech’s preclinical instruments to research scientists around the world.

• In August 2021, Rigaku Corporation, a leading manufacturer of X-ray analysis equipment, acquired all issued shares of MILabs B.V., as part of their full-scale effort to enter the life sciences business. Through this acquisition, Rigaku Corporation will expand its life sciences modality business globally by combining MILabs B.V.s’ multi-modality businesses, including PET (Positron Emission Tomography), SPECT (Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography), optical imaging, and CT (Computed Tomography) equipment for animals, with Rigaku Corporation’s original X-ray imaging business for animals.

Top Companies in Global Preclinical Imaging Market

• Bruker Corporation
• Siemens A.G.
• General Electric(GE)
• TriFoil Imaging
• PerkinElmer, Inc.
• VisualSonics Inc. (Fujifilm), Inc.
• Mediso Ltd.
• Agilent Technologies
• MILabs B.V.
• MR Solutions
• Molecubes

Definition: Preclinical imaging refers to the visualization of living animals for research purposes, which is often for the study of diseases, development of new therapies, or the assessment of new diagnostic imaging methods. It is a critical component in the drug development process, as it allows researchers to observe the disease progression and treatment effects in real-time, without the need for invasive procedures, which can lead to more ethical and relevant findings than traditional in vitro studies.