Biosensors Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Application (Medical, Agriculture) By Technology (Thermal, Electrochemical, Optical) And Segment Forecasts, 2012 - 2020

Industry Insights 

The global biosensors market size was valued at USD 15.6 billion in 2016 and is expected grow at a CAGR of 7.9% during the forecast period. Myriad applications in the medical field, rising diabetic population base, high demand for miniature diagnostic devices, and rapid technological advancements are the factors driving the market growth.

Early and precise disease diagnosis is essential for survival of the patient and successful prognosis of the disease. In the recent years, the demand for disposable, simple, cost-efficient, and user-friendly devices with fast response time has extensively increased. Biosensors owing to their potential to fulfil these criteria through an interdisciplinary combination of approaches from medical science, chemistry, and nanotechnology have paved their way rapidly in the medical field.

Biosensors for measuring blood metabolites such as lactate, glucose, creatinine, and urea, using both optical and electrochemical modes of transduction, are being routinely used and commercially developed in the point of care testing, laboratories, and for self-testing in the case of glucose monitoring. Biosensors have applications in various segments in the healthcare industry.

The segments comprise diabetes, cardiovascular disease diagnosis, and cancer. The rising incidence of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases globally has led to increased use of biosensors for early detection of these diseases. As clinical analyses are no longer carried out exclusively in clinical chemistry laboratory, biosensors are ideal for new applications in hospitals, by patients at home, and by caregivers in non-hospital settings, thus augmenting the use of biosensors.

Additionally, Governmental initiatives aimed at the development of proteomics and genomics are expected to drive the global biosensors market. For instance, National Information and Communication Technology Australia (NICTA) is expected to advance its research on data mining, networks, and embedded systems to be used in this field. Most of the IT companies are also significantly investing in the biosensors market. Investments from major IT players such as IBM, Infosys, and TCS are expected to boost market expansion.

Significant funding is been made in Europe by Max-Planck Institute in collaboration with the Federal Government of Germany and other German states. The European Molecular Biology Laboratory’s European Institute (EMBL-EBI) and BBSRC, with support by the UK Government, made a commitment of approximately USD 93 million for ELIXIR research infrastructure in 2012.

In addition, the Chinese Government is also investing heavily on its computing infrastructure majorly via the China Grid initiated by Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Education and the China National Grid (CNGrid) supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology. Presence of such favorable initiatives is expected to have a positive impact on the biosensors market.

Application Insights

Based on the applications, the space is segmented as medical, food toxicity, bioreactor, agriculture, environment, and others. In 2013, medical segment dominated the market with around 66% of the revenue share. The medical segment comprises use of biosensors in the field of cholesterol testing, blood glucose monitoring, blood gas analyzer, pregnancy testing, drug discovery and infectious diseases.They are considered as an essential tool in the detection and monitoring of a wide range of medical conditions from diabetes to cancer.

Agriculture is anticipated to be the fastest growing segment during the forecast period. Biosensors provide rapid and specific detection of various funguses as compared to the older techniques that are adopted to reduce the loss of livestock and crops by natural threats and bioterrorism. Biosensors are used to measure the concentrations of pesticides, heavy metals and herbicides, and pesticides in the ground and soil water. These are also used to forecast the possible occurrence of soil disease, which was not feasible with the conventional technology and hence providing reliable, advanced ways for the decontamination and prevention of soil disease at an early stage. Such factors are contributing to the growth of the market.

Technology Insights

Based on technology, the market is categorized into thermal, electrochemical, piezoeletric, and optical. Electrochemical segment captured the largest market share in 2013as a consequence of widespread applications for quantification and analysis in biochemical and biological processes. Electrochemical biosensors have advantages such as wide linear response range, low detection limits, reproducibility, and optimum stability, which lead to their greater usage as compared to other biosensing technologies.Electrochemical transduction presents considerable advantages over thermal, piezoelectric or optical detection, thereby leading to high consumption and greater market penetration. These advantages include robustness, compatibility with new microfabrication technologies, disposability, low cost, ease-of-operation, independence from sample turbidity, and minimal power requirements.

The optical segment is expected to show the fastest growth during the forecast period. Rising demand of optical biosensors in analysis owing to their versatile analytical coverage is expected to boost the growth of segment over the forecast period. Optical biosensors are applicable for structural studies, fermentation monitoring, receptor-cell interactions, concentration, kinetic, and equilibrium analysis, thereby resulting in high market usage and penetration of the segment in 2014.

End-use Insights

The end users of the biosensors market are home healthcare diagnostics, PoC testing, food industry, research laboratories, and security and bio-defense. Biosensors in PoC testing dominated the market in 2013 with around 48% revenue share.

Technological advancements pertaining to novel product development such as ultrasensitive printable biosensors for point of care applications that help in detecting or monitoring biological fluids such as urine, blood, sweat, and saliva are amongst key rendering drivers attributing to the growth of biosensors in point of care diagnostics over the forecast period.

Biosensors in food industry are the fastest growing end-use segment of the market over the forecast period. Key factors attributing to its rapid growth include their ability to overcome various challenges in food processing industries, which includes minimization of costs incurred during the hygiene analysis by providing rapid and accurate test results.

Rising concerns for detection of allergic components and pathogens in food and biosensors have paved the way for rapid food analysis to maintain product freshness and routine monitoring of raw materials, which are some of the potential application areas of biosensors in food industry.

Regional Insights

North America captured the largest market share of around 41% in 2013owing to the growing prevalence rate of targeted diseases and presence of higher healthcare expenditure levels. Technological advancements such as the introduction of miniaturized diagnostic equipment rendering rapid and accurate results and rising market penetration of Electronic Medical Records (EMR) are also expected to drive market growth over the forecast period.

Additionally, presence of Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and National Environmental Policy Act in the U.S., which are continuously monitoring the environmental pollution are expected to provide this regional market with lucrative growth opportunities over the forecast period.

Asia pacific is expected to exhibit the fastest growth during the forecast period. Presence of high unmet medical needs pertaining to target disease segments, such as cancer, diabetes and other infectious diseases, growing patient awareness levels, and constantly improving healthcare expenditure in the region, are some of the key factors attributing to the aforementioned conclusion.

Rising demand for point-of-care, home healthcare, and other healthcare establishments catering to the adult population and initiatives undertaken by governments to shorten hospital stays by establishing outpatient care models are also expected to drive market expansion over the forecast period.

Biosensors Market Share Insights

A few of the major players include AZUR Environmental, Abbott Laboratories, Biosensor BV, Bayer AG, Cranfield Biotechnology Centre, Pinnacle Technologies Inc., DuPont Biosensor Materials, Ercon, Inc., EG & IC Sensors, Inc., Johnson & Johnson, Innovative Biosensors Inc., LifeScan, Inc., Strategic Diagnostics, Sysmex Corporation, Molecular Devices Corp., QTL Biosystems, and Roche Diagnostics.

Major players implement the strategies such as mergers, acquisitions, and liaison to expand their market share. Major players are more focused on the research and development of new products to remain competent in the sector.

For instance, in June 2014, Johnson & Johnson’s division, Ethicon, entered in to a research agreement with Brainstem Biometrics for confirming the clinical utility of Tremor Monitor Unit. The company funded the clinical research of biosensor of Biometrics, which is used in measuring brainstem function in metabolic diseases treatment.

Report Scope

Segments Covered in the Report

This report forecasts revenue growth at global, regional, & country levels as well as provides an analysis on the latest trends and opportunities in each of the sub-segments from 2012 to 2020. For the purpose of this study, Grand View Research has segmented the global biosensors market report on the basis of technology, application, end user, and region:

• Technology Type Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2012 - 2020)

  • Thermal

  • Electrochemical

  • Piezoeletric

  • Optical

• Application Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2012 - 2020)

  • Medical

    • Cholesterol

    • Blood Glucose

    • Blood gas analyzer

    • Preganancy testing

    • Drug discovery

    • Infectious disease

  • Food Toxicity

  • Bioreactor

  • Agriculture

  • Environment

  • Others

• End User Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2012 - 2020)

  • Home healthcare diagnostics

  • PoC testing

  • Food industry

  • Research Laboratories

  • Security and Bio-defense

• Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2012 - 2020)

  • North America

  • Europe

  • Asia Pacific

  • RoW