Molecular Testing Will Be Routine Part Of Patient Treatment By 2010, Says New Report

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 01 Jan 2009 - 0:00 PDT

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Molecular medicine will soon transform the entire spectrum of disease management, from assuring the early detection of disease, to defining the prognosis of disease evolution and predicting a patient's response to specific therapies. According to Kalorama Information's new report, "The World Market for Molecular Diagnostics," as DNA-based diagnostic and therapeutic interventions come to market and payers start to cover those therapeutics that prove economically valuable, physicians will begin to rely on them for treating their patients. This will propel the molecular testing market, valued at $3.7 billion in 2007, into double-digit annual growth through 2012.

Since the mid 1980s Roche's PCR technology has dominated molecular testing. However, many new technologies are poised to take over from PCR, including bead arrays, electrochemical arrays, microarrays, SNP-it and WAVE. These innovations incorporate the need for products that can be easily miniaturized and simplified for use in routine laboratories that have not yet invested in molecular methods. New products will also respond to the demand for faster turnaround of test results and for standardization of a large menu of tests on a single platform, thus speeding the adoption of molecular assays in routine patient care.

"The new molecular assays, techniques and test services that have emerged in the past few years are directly related to the genomic information culled from sequencing the human genome and pathogenic organisms," notes Kalorama Information analyst Shara Rosen. "By the time DNA assays become part of the routine fabric of laboratory medicine in 2010 or so, it is expected that physicians around the world will rely on molecular assays in the treatment of their patients."

The success of molecular diagnostics will result from the commercialization of rapid, user-friendly, inexpensive and high-quality tests and, together with the discovery of molecular-based therapeutics, will allow for more individualized disease management.

Kalorama Information's new report "The World Market for Molecular Diagnostics," highlights new molecular assays, techniques and test services that have emerged in the past few years, reviewing those that are currently available and those that are expected to take their place. A market overview, market estimates and forecasts through 2012 are included, as well as profiles of 150 companies. For further information, click here.

About Kalorama Information

Kalorama Information supplies the latest in independent market research in the life sciences, as well as a full range of custom research services. We routinely assist the media with healthcare topics.

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