Biomarkers are becoming increasingly useful to doctors as a tool to help diagnose patients earlier, predict the course of disease and tailor more individualized treatment regimens. That value is powering rising demand from both patients and providers, and RnR Market Research predicts that the global biomarkers market will grow to $40.8 billion--a margin of 18.5%--from 2013 to 2018.
Discovery technology advances, an increase in partnerships and collaborations to bolster biomarker research, a boost in government and private sector investments and funds for biomarker discovery, and FDA backing for biomarker development are the driving forces behind that trend, RnR Market Research says in a report.
In particular, the need to screen and detect tumor cells earlier is expected to propel the market for oncology biomarkers, which is projected to grow at the highest rate over the next 5 years. Earlier detection can help eliminate the need for invasive treatments, often needed when cancer is discovered at too late a stage.
Biomarkers also have growing potential to reduce the time span of clinical trials, which can lower the overall cost of the drug discovery and development process.
In the biomarker discovery technology sector, genomics and proteomics technologies have gained a foothold as adoption of those technologies has grown worldwide.
But the forecast report points out that challenges in the market still exist. For one, there's the high capital investment and low benefit-cost ratio associated with biomarkers. The biomarker validation procedure is also burdensome, and sample collection and storage remain barriers to market growth.
- here's the full report
- and the press release