COVID-19 Diagnostics Market Introduction & Overview

The rapid spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) across almost every country worldwide, has resulted in severe outcomes, across all these regions. As of today, the total number of infected cases by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) stands at a staggering 1.9 million. Whereas, the disease has been responsible for the death of nearly 4,86,000 individuals worldwide. With no proven therapeutic solution to curb the rapid transmission of the disease, government bodies around the globe have adhered to policies of quarantine and social distancing. However, one of the significant factors which can ultimately flatten the curve of COVID-19 is testing for the virus on an enormous scale. It has triggered the need for testing & diagnostic approaches to identify & isolate individuals suffering from the condition, and eventually stop the spread of the virus further.

The global disease diagnostic market has been witnessing a significant surge in demand for COVID-19 testing kits from countries worldwide. For instance, biotechnology companies in South Korea have ramped up production of testing kits and have exported testing kits worth over US$ 48.6 million to several countries across the globe. At present, the global healthcare systems are testing citizens for SARS-CoV-2, using majorly two approaches, viz. molecular assay & serologic immunoassays. Although, other ancillary diagnostic testsare also being examined simultaneously to prove its efficiency & efficacy in the fight against COVID-19.

Both molecular assays & serologic immuno assays, utilize different kinds of samples to search for different hallmarks of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. However, neither of the tests aretotally perfect, and both the techniques have theircaveats. The molecular diagnostic approach, which mainly utilizes The Real-Time Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) remains the global standard of testing. However, several novel or complementary diagnostic methods are continuously being developed and evaluated. The development of serologic immunoassays to detect the presence or absence of both antigens & antibodies have attracted much attention, and several countries around the globe have acquired thousands of test kits to test hotspots & community spreads in their respective regions.

The global COVID-19 diagnostics market has been segmented into the following categories – Test Type and End-User.

COVID-19 Diagnostics Market By Test Type

The global COVID-19 diagnostics market has been segmented majorly into three distinct categories, viz. Molecular Assays, Serologic Immunoassays, and Ancillary Diagnostic Tests. The molecular assays segment has been further classified into Laboratory-Based Molecular Testing and Point-of-Care Molecular Diagnostics. Whereas, the segment of Serologic Immunoassays, has been bifurcated into Antigen Detection Tests and Serology Tests. The molecular assays technique, which includes the RT-PCR-based assays performed on respiratory samples, remains the cornerstone in COVID-19 diagnostic testing.

COVID-19 Diagnostics Market By End User

Based on end-user, the COVID-19 diagnostics market can be classified into Hospitals, Public Health Labs, Private or Commercial Labs and Other End Users.

COVID-19 Diagnostics Market By Region

The global COVID-19 diagnostics markethas been segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Rest of the World (ROW).  North America is expected to command the largest share in the global COVID-19 diagnostics market, followed by Europe, Asia Pacific & Rest of the World (RoW). The large share of North America in the global market can largely be attributed to the massive scale of testing in the U.S. for the past few months. Since the detection of the first case of COVID-19 in the U.S. on January 19, 2020, the U.S. government has ramped up testing facilities substantially. Since March 1, 2020, the U.S. government has conducted more than 2.9 million tests for COVID-19. Whereas, on April 13, 2020, alone, the country conducted approximately 8.9 tests per 1000 people. Advanced healthcare infrastructure, significant budget allocation to scale up testing & diagnosis, amendment of stringent policies to curb the spread of the pandemic, and fast-track approval of diagnostic kits & products, among others, have played a crucial role in dictating the growth of this region in the global COVID-19 diagnostic market.

COVID-19 Diagnostics Market Prominent Players

The prominent players operating in the global COVID-19 diagnostics market are Seegene Inc., F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, Altona Diagnostics GmbH, SD BIOSENSOR, Abbott, BIOMEDOMICS INC., Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc., VivaChek Biotech (Hangzhou) Co., Ltd., Sensing Self, PTE. Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Perkin Elmer Inc., among others.