Market Challenges And Opportunities
Restraints & Challenges: |
- Unfavorable reimbursement scenario
- High cost of advanced troponin tests
- Lack of awareness regarding advanced cardiac diagnostics
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Global Troponin Market Drivers:
- Increasing incidence of cardiac diseases: The increasing prevalence of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) across the globe is one of the primary factors fueling the expansion of the global troponin market. According to an article published the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2020, cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of deaths worldwide. According to the same source, in 2020 alone, over 17.9 million people succumbed to CVDs which accounted for an estimated 32% of deaths globally. The top causes of CVDs are heart attacks and strokes which often require urgent clinical diagnosis. Furthermore, the growing geriatric population prone to heart conditions also plays a significant role. According to United Nations data, the number of persons aged 65 years or over is projected to rise from 727 million in 2020 to over 1.5 billion in 2050. This trend will inevitably lead to a proportional increase in the incidence of conditions like stable angina, unstable angina, chronic heart failure, etc., which requires long-term monitoring through sensitive troponin tests.
- Technological advancements in troponin testing: Technological advancements in cardiac troponin testing have significantly expanded the clinical utility of troponin assays, driving the growth of the global troponin market. Highly sensitive troponin tests have revolutionized the early detection of myocardial injury by accurately detecting troponin elevations within a few hours of the onset of symptoms. This has improved the management of acute coronary syndrome and facilitated rapid decision making regarding further treatment. For example, according to a 2020 publication by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), the use of high-sensitivity troponin tests reduced the time to rule out heart attack from 9 hours to 3 hours without compromising diagnostic accuracy.
- Increasing adoption of point-of-care testing: The growing preference for point-of-care cardiac testing is propelling the global troponin market forward. Conventional laboratory-based cardiac marker tests can take several hours to produce results. However, point-of-care tests provide rapid assessment of cardiac injury, which is invaluable for timely clinical decision making and adequate management of heart attacks. Troponin assays are being increasingly integrated into point-of-care testing devices and platforms that can be operated with ease in hospital emergency departments, physician offices, and even ambulances. This allows for quick rule-in or rule-out of myocardial infarction at the time and place of initial presentation.
- Several major hospital networks and healthcare systems around the world have already begun employing point-of-care troponin tests generated from blood samples as small as a finger-prick. According to Public Health England, increased utilization of finger-prick testing led to a 20% reduction in the median time to revascularization for heart attack patients in the country from 2010 to 2020. With results being available within 15-20 minutes, physicians can initiate effective treatments much faster compared to conventional methods. This has significantly improved patient outcomes and healthcare efficiency. Point-of-care testing also enables more widespread cardiac screening activities in community settings through mobile health units and paramedics, expanding access to diagnostics.
Global Troponin Market Opportunities:
- Development of automated lab systems for troponin testing: The development of automated lab systems for troponin testing could unlock significant opportunities in the global troponin market. Traditionally, troponin tests have been performed manually in laboratories, which can be time-consuming and labor-intensive. However, recent technological advancements have led to the development of fully-automated lab systems that can improve the efficiency and turnaround time for troponin testing. These automated systems utilize robotics and smart software to automate the entire workflow from sample insert to result reporting. They can analyze multiple patient samples simultaneously without human intervention. This helps eliminate manual errors and allows labs to scale up their testing capacities substantially. For example, some systems can process over 1,000 troponin tests in just 24 hours with minimal staff requirement. The increased throughput can help address growing diagnostic demands and reduce waiting periods for patients in emergency rooms.
- Launch of novel products with improved sensitivity and accuracy: The global troponin market has been growing steadily over the past few years owing to rising cardiac cases worldwide and increasing adoption of troponin tests in hospitals and diagnostic labs. However, players in this market have been focusing on developing novel products that can further enhance the diagnostic ability and accuracy of troponin tests. The launch of such innovative products has the potential to significantly boost the troponin market growth in the coming years. Products launched recently like the Siemens AG, a Germany-based multinational technology, Atellica IM immunoassay analyzer claims to detect troponin I and T at much lower concentrations compared to conventional assays. Preliminary studies show this improved analytical sensitivity allows for detection of troponin increases 6 hours earlier in patients experiencing a heart attack. Such advancements in diagnostic windows give medical professionals a head start in treatment, preventing damage to the heart.