The market for real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was valued at about USD 3.2 billion for 2013 according to Kalorama Information (New York, NY, USA) an increase from USD 2.8 billion in 2011. The healthcare market researcher said that the testing system is considered the workhorse of research providing high quality, reproducible data. It also has many clinical applications including viral detection and quantification, according to Kalorama’s new report. qPCR is considered the gold standard for accurate, sensitive, and fast quantification of nucleic acid sequences. qPCR has been established for a broad range of applications including genotyping, pathogen detection, DNA methylation analysis, and other functions.
PCR is used for testing for the presence of genetic disease mutations. Prospective parents can be tested for being genetic carriers, or their children tested for actually being affected by a disease. DNA samples for prenatal testing can be obtained by amniocentesis, chorionic villus sampling, or even by the analysis of rare fetal cells circulating in the mother's bloodstream. PCR analysis is also essential to preimplantation genetic diagnosis, where individual cells of a developing embryo are tested for mutations.
qPCR is increasingly being used in the medical diagnostic arena for diagnosis of bacterial disease, detection of antibiotic resistance, diagnosis of infectious disease, and quantification of bacterial load. It is also used to detect genetic abnormalities and cancer mutations.
“Many forms of cancer involve alterations to oncogenes,” said Mary Ann Crandall, Kalorama analyst and author of the report. “By using PCR-based tests to study these mutations, therapy regimens can sometimes be individually customized to a patient.”
qPCR-based diagnostic tests are expected to expand in the future. However, these tests will have to meet three requirements: adaptation of existing diagnostic tests, especially according to the discovery of new variants of target genes of specific pathogens, responsible for false-negative results; expansion of diagnostic applications; and lower cost. The benefit is early diagnosis of disease and rapid assessment of resistances to treatment.
The three recognized product types within the qPCR market include reagents, instruments, and software/services. The report, qPCR and dPCR Markets, breaks out the market into these segments, identifies application segments including clinical and research, and reviews companies participating in the market.
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