The Indian immunochemistry instruments and reagents market value was an estimated Rs. 425 crore in 2008. The market is growing at a CAGR of 15 percent. Reagents led the market with over 70 percent share contributing sales worth Rs. 300 crore.

The Indian immunochemistry instruments and reagents market value was an estimated Rs. 425 crore in 2008, witnessing a CAGR of 15 percent. Reagents led the market with over 70 percent share, contributing sales worth Rs. 300 crore. Instruments accounted for total sale of Rs. 125 crore (approximately 30 percent share). The automated immunochemistry analyzers segment is the most rapidly developing segment in the immunochemistry instruments and reagents market in India. The market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 12-15 percent in 2008.

The market for immunochemistry can broadly be segmented into instruments and reagents. The instrument segment can further be categorized as follows:

• Chemiluminescence (CLI) analyzers:
• Radioimmunoassay (RIA) analyzers: RIA involves the separation of the drug using the specificity of antibody - antigen binding and quantitation using radioactivity. This technique used to detect test antigens without using bioassays
• Immunofluorescence (IFA) analyzers
• Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (Elisa Instruments): It aids in detecting the presence of antigens or antibodies in a solution. It is a popular diagnostic tool used for a variety of medical and quality control applications. Elisa is most importantly used for HIV testing by applying a person's serum to a micro-titer plate on which HIV antigens have been attached. Elisa instruments can be fully automated Elisa instruments, Elisa Readers (Semi Automated), and Elisa Washers (Semi Automated)

Vendors of immunochemistry instruments and reagents in India include: Abbott Healthcare, Ark Diagnostics, Beckman Coulter, bioMerieux, Bio-Rad Laboratories, CPC Diagnostics, Diagnova, Godrej Medical, J. Mitra, Kopran (Olympus), Logotech Lilac Medicare, Medsource Ozone (Standard Diagnostics-for Elisa) (Human), Merck, Ortho-Clinical, Diagnostics, Randox, Rapha Diagnostics, Rapid Diagnostics, Roche Diagnostics, Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics, Span Diagnostics, Spectral Diagnostics, Suyog Diagnostics, Transasia Bio-Medicals, Trivitron (Diagnostics Products Corp.), Tulip Diagnostics, and Kruise Pathline.

Adaltis (represented by IRIS Healthcare) has recently opened its office in India. Narendra Kumar, Country Manager - India, Adaltis Inc., says, "In order to support emerging market needs, Adaltis Inc. has opened an office in India with full fledge technical team to support business associates and end users. Our goal is to expand our Indian operation to support our customers with the best of services and in turn improve our market share in India."

Abbott provides a range of diagnostic products globally and immunodiagnostics is the cornerstone of Abbott's diagnostic products; it offers complete immunoassay testing, automated analyzer, and so on. Ark diagnostics offers CLI and a range of Elisa instruments that include fully automated Elisa readers and washers. It also provides immunochemistry reagents. Beckman Coulter provides a variety of immunochemistry systems, kits, reagents, and consumables. bioMerieux manufactures and markets a range of instruments and reagents in the immunodiagnostics category. Its instruments are well-known for high-speed, and its product range pertains to both clinical and industrial segments.

Bio-Rad offers a range of immunochemistry products through its clinical diagnostics segment. CPC offers a variety of immunodiagnostic instruments and reagents. It markets Elisa processor and IF microscope, immunoassay analyzer, and lifematch flouroanalyzer. J. Mitra offers Elisa test kits, which include HIV range, HCV range, HBV range, dengue range, and LEPTO range under its diagnostics division. Medsource Ozone markets a range of automated analyzers, Elisa reader, washer, and incubator in its range of immunochemistry diagnostics. It also offers reagents in this category. Roche offers a variety of immunoassay and immunochemistry analyzers. It markets Elecsys range of immunochemistry instruments and reagents. Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics offers a range of immunochemistry instruments that include ADVIA Centaur XP Immunoassay System, Vista series, IMMULITE series, and so on. Span markets simple, user friendly, and ready to use immunochemistry analyzers. Spectral offers Elisa reader and washer and Elisa kits apart from a wide variety of other products pertaining to immunochemistry. Suyog offers Elisa plate reader for accurate diagnosis.

Transasia, in collaboration with leading international companies like Sysmex, Medica, Grifols, Diesse, Fujirebio, and others, offers a complete suit of products in the in-vitro diagnostics space. Under immunochemistry segment it provides automated walkway immunoassay system, Elisa reader and washer, and many more. Trivitron offers high performance Elisa readers that perform a wide range of immunoassays and fully automated Elisa plate reader. Tulip offers a whole range of immunochemistry reagents, Elisa reader Lisaquant 3000 and Elisa washer Lisawash 3000.

In 2008 the market for immunochemistry instruments and reagents was led by Elisa instruments and reagents with percent contribution of 45, followed by chemiluminescence (CLI) analyzers and reagents segment with estimated market 30 percent of the total market in 2008. The immunofluorescence analyzers (IFA) and reagents segment accounted for 15 percent. The last and smallest segment is radioimmunoassay (RIA) analyzers and reagents, which was analyzed for 10 percent market share.

Reagents related to immunodiagnostic and other immunomarker reagents have found more application and potential in R&D industry, thus the market for preparation of immunochemistry reagents is expected to grow further in near future. As far as reagents segment is concerned, the market was led by Thyroid reagents (T3, T4, TSH, FT3, and FT4), which accounted for 50 percent of the total market followed by the other segments that holds close market share. The sale of reagents for infectious diseases (HIV, Hepatitis B Virus, Hepatitis C Virus, TORCH panel) was the second on the series and accounted for 20 percent share of the reagents market. Fertility hormones holds 13 percent market share and tumor markers had a share of 7 percent each, and all other remaining reagents accounted for 10 percent share in reagents sale. Tumor markers mainly aid in cancer detection and diagnosis, as they are typically found in abnormal amounts in blood, urine, or tissues of certain patients with cancer. They also help in predicting a patient's response to a particular therapy or treatment process for cancer.

Immunochemistry can also be used to increase the predictability of a cytology diagnosis if care is taken with the cytology sample preparation methodology and there is judicious use of select monoclonal antibody panels to support a specific cytology diagnosis.

Market Trends

The Indian market is currently facing a serious issue in the form of duplicity of reagents. To overcome this problem, the industry needs to have proper quality checks and government should take part in it. Apart from the obvious need for stringent regulatory intervention, vendors and buyers of equipment need to work closely together in order to overcome this serious issue. The emerging trend in immunochemistry instruments is automation. Laboratories now-a-days are taking full advantage of clinical information management, which includes internet based reporting also. The present day technologies allow consolidation, which in turn enables to perform wider range of tests.

Over the past couple of years, the immunochemistry market is experiencing a continuous growth of around 15 percent per annum. With this the market is expected to reach at approximately Rs. 490 crore in 2009. With time, immunoassay technology has seen a remarkable increase in application areas, from clinical to industrial and environmental segments. In clinical chemistry sampling it has got a large number of applications. The availability of new technology and systems that offer an expanded menu has been driving the growth for this market segment in India. It is able to perform the most critical test as well, such as tests for thyroid, cancer, fertility markers, retroviral markers, and so on. The rise in population is the major growth driver for this segment as increased population accounts for demand for increased number of tests and thus more immunochemistry analyzers.