CLINICAL DIAGNOSTIC MARKET ANALYSIS

Market Challenges And Opportunities

Global Clinical Diagnostic Market Drivers:

Growing burden of infectious and chronic diseases to underpin market growth

One of the key factors expected to propel the growth of the global clinical diagnostic market over the forecast period is the growing burden of infectious and chronic diseases across the world. For instance, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) (such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes) kill 41 million people each year, equivalent to 74% of all deaths worldwide. Each year, over 15 million people die from a NCD between the ages of 30 and 69 years; 85% of these deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries.

Rise in use of clinical diagnostic worldwide to augment market growth

Another factor which is driving the growth of the global clinical diagnostic market is the increase in use of clinical diagnostic around the world. This is attributed to surge in awareness toward point-of-care (POC) diagnostics. In July 2021, QuantuMDx Group Limited announced the launch of Q-POC, a rapid, PCR point-of-care (POC) diagnostic system. Q-POC is a portable PCR system that compresses an entire molecular diagnostic laboratory into simple to use, accessible, and affordable single device offering rapid, molecular diagnostic testing at the point of care, with results in around 30 minutes. This in turn is driving the growth of the market.

Global Clinical Diagnostic Market Opportunities:

The outbreak of COVID-19 is expected to provide significant growth opportunities for players in the global clinical diagnostic market. For instance, due to the pandemic, there has been an increase in laboratory testing, causing demand to grow even faster to keep pace with the suspected cases of COVID-19. In September 2020, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced its plan to give funding of US$ 129.3 million to scale-up manufacturing support for a new set of COVID-19 testing technologies as part of its Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) initiative. Diagnostic testing is a critical component of the strategy to meet the challenge of the pandemic.

Growing geriatric population across the globe is expected to offer significant growth opportunities for players in the global clinical diagnostic market. For instance, aging increases the risk of chronic diseases, and with the rise in geriatric population, the burden of infectious and chronic diseases is also increasing with a rapid pace worldwide. According to the WHO, by 2030, one in six people in the world will be aged 60 years or over, and by 2050, the world’s population of people aged 60 years and older will double (2.1 billion). This in turn has increased the use of clinical diagnostic or is expected to increase the use of clinical diagnostic.

Global Clinical Diagnostic Market Restraints:

High cost of high-end molecular diagnostics to hamper the market growth

Another factor which is hindering growth of the global clinical diagnostics market is affordability for high-end molecular diagnostics. The cost of high-end molecular diagnostic tests is significantly high and not all insurance companies’ cover them. However, the cost of molecular diagnostics has fallen rapidly over the years. As the cost of advanced molecular diagnostics becomes progressively affordable, a shift towards this type of diagnostic approach is expected.

Reimbursement scenario to hinder growth of the market

The current limitations for clinical diagnostics regarding the inadequate reimbursement are one of the major factors hindering growth of the clinical diagnostics market. The current reimbursement system is designed to support relatively simple diagnostic tests, it is not designed to support novel complex diagnostic tests, and research suggests that its shortcomings are hindering the progress of personalized medicine today. Limitations are more profound for novel diagnostics developers.