Stem cells are basic form of biological cells, which can differentiate into other types of cells and can produce more of the same type of stem cells. There are two types of stem cells, which include embryonic stem cells, and adult stem cells. These cells are present in areas in the body such as bone marrow, adipose tissue, and blood. Stem cells are also taken from umbilical cord blood. The stem cell population in the body is maintained through two processes, which include obligatory asymmetric replication and stochastic differentiation. Stem cells play an important role in the natural healing process of the body and introduction of stem cells has shown positive results in the treatment of many diseases such as cancer. The significance of stem cell assays lies in the fact that they are used for various processes such as viability or cytotoxicity studying, isolation and purification of stem cells, cell identification, cell proliferation, and cell differentiation for research purposes. In the case of stem cell transplant, initially, the embryonic stem cells are specialized into necessary adult cell type. Then, these cells are used to replace the tissue that is damaged due to any disease or injury. Commercially available stem cell assays include NSC ICC Kit, Stem Cell Pluripotency Array, TaqMan Array Mouse Stem Cell Pluripotency Panel, and TaqMan iPSC Sendai Detection Kit.

Stem Cell Assay Market Drivers

Rising prevalence of various diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular diseases, and potential of stem cell therapy in the management of these diseases is expected to drive growth of the stem cell assay market over the forecast period. According to the American Cancer Society, in 2017, cancer was the second most common cause of death in the U.S., which accounted for nearly 1 out of every 4 deaths. Novel therapies such as stem cell transplant and stem cell therapy could potentially improve medical outcomes of chronic diseases. Also, pure stem cells are required to conduct research for various purposes. Stem cell transplant could replace the neurons damaged by spinal cord injury, stroke, and Alzheimer’s disease. These factors are expected to drive growth of the stem cell assay market over the forecast period. Moreover, organizations such as California’s Stem Cell Agency is indulged in the development of new stem cell based therapies for chronic diseases such as cancer and rare diseases. For instance, manufacturers such as Sangamo Therapeutics and Fate Therapeutics are working on stem cell based therapies for diseases such as β-Thalassemia and cancer respectively. The therapies are ST-400 Autologous HSPC Transplant and FT516: a natural killer cell immunotherapy respectively. Moreover, due to significant increase in the researches and studies based on stem cells, the stem cell assay market is expected to witness significant growth over the forecast period.

However, if stem cells are not properly differentiated into required adult cell type, transplanted stem cells may revert back to teratomas (cells forming teratoma) and there is a possibility of transplant rejection always. This is expected to restrain growth of the stem cell assay market.

Stem Cell Assay Market Insights

North America and Europe are expected to witness significant growth in the market over the forecast period. This is owing to presence of key manufacturers and researchers of stem cell based therapies in these regions. Moreover, manufacturers such as ThermoFisher Scientific, and Agilent Technologies, Inc. providing stem cell assay are present in North America region, which fuel growth of the market. Asia Pacific region is expected to show significant growth over the forecast period, as researchers from China and Japan are working on stem cell based therapies. For instance, in 2017, clinical trials of embryonic stem cells were launched in China for Parkinson’s disease.

Stem Cell Assay Market Competitive Landscape

Key players operating in the global stem cell assay market include Merck & Co., Thermo Fisher Scientific, GE Healthcare, Agilent Technologies, Bio-Rad Laboratories, Promega Corporation, Cell Biolabs, PerkinElmer, Miltenyi Biotec, HemoGenix, Bio-Techne Corporation, STEMCELL Technologies, and Cellular Dynamics International.

Stem Cell Assay Market Taxonomy-

The global stem cell assay market is segmented on the basis of product type, cell type, process, application, and geography.

By Product Type-

Instruments
Reagents & Kits

By Cell Type –

Adult Stem Cells
- Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells
- Mesenchymal Stem Cells
- Neural Stem Cells
- Hematopoietic Stem Cells
- Umbilical Cord Stem Cells
Human Embryonic Stem Cells

By Process –

Cell Culture
Engineering
Differentiation
Characterization
Others

By Application -

Research
Drug Discovery & Development
Regenerative Medicine

By Region -

North America
Europe
Asia Pacific
Latin America
Middle East
Africa

About Author

Abhijeet Kale is a results-driven management consultant with five years of specialized experience in the biotech and clinical diagnostics sectors. With a strong background in scientific research and business strategy, Abhijeet helps organizations identify potential revenue pockets, and in turn helping clients with market entry strategies. He assists clients in developing robust strategies for navigating FDA and EMA requirements.