According to a new Frost & Sullivan (Mountain View, CA, USA) analysis, convergence of immunological and molecular tests will help meet growing needs for infectious disease (ID) diagnostics. Although these tests remain expensive, their efficiency and accuracy strengthen their use case.

Frost & Sullivan’s new report “Analysis of the Global Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market” finds the market earned USD 7.91 billion revenue in 2013 and estimates it to reach USD 12.77 billion in 2018. Hepatitis B, hepatitis C, tuberculosis, and sepsis tests are predicted to be the major revenue generators.

The market will continue to develop as unmet technological needs lead to the creation of faster, more capable platforms. Molecular ID-diagnostics is growing fastest, clocking a compound annual growth of 15.3%. “Immunodiagnostics is another segment that continues to expand rapidly owing to cost-effective tests as well as the prevalence of hospital-acquired infections like sepsis and MRSA,” said Frost & Sullivan life sciences industry analyst Aish Vivekanandan, “Molecular methods and immunodiagnostics are expected to complement each other as the need for accurate and rapid diagnostic tests rises.”

Unique disease outbreaks across the globe are further escalating the demand for screening, spurring the ID diagnostic market. While decentralized and rapid tests are a growing trend in the developed world, stringent regulations complicate product development and marketing, and high costs affect the market in developing countries. Another challenge is low product awareness across regions. Companies must invest in clinical studies to prove the efficacy of their products and raise awareness among evidence-driven consumers, especially in the clinical field.

“Many participants are focusing their research on top industry requirements such as product automation, rapidity, specificity, and accuracy,” noted Vivekanandan, “Companies are also striving to expand the scope of diseases their products cover in order to establish their foothold in the global ID diagnostics market.”

The new report is part of Frost & Sullivan’s Life Sciences Growth Partnership Service program. Related studies include: “Global in Vitro Diagnostics Market,” “US Hematology Diagnostics Market,” “Global Next-generation Sequencing Market,” and “Western European Companion Diagnostics Market.” All studies included in subscriptions provide detailed market opportunities and industry trends evaluated following extensive interviews with market participants.