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| Real-Time Cyclers Ride the Wave |
| Tuesday, 06 July 2010 | |
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With the concept of PCR being widely explored and in view of the various advantages it offers, several branches of science are employing PCR in their research processes. As a result, the thermal cyclers' market in India is experiencing significant growth. The introduction of real-time PCR technology has opened new avenues in molecular biology research and consequently, the real-time thermal cyclers market is demonstrating steady growth. End-users are looking forward to real-time thermal cyclers in comparison to traditional cyclers due to the instant quantitative results of the amplified DNA sequences. As real-time thermal cyclers are of high value, the overall market value of thermal cyclers is increasing. New entrants in the market are also targeting the real-time thermal cycler segment due to its enormous profitability. Market Dynamics
Life sciences and biotechnology continued to be the leading application segments contributing to the sale of thermal cyclers in the country. Government is focusing on funding biotechnological research, which has encouraged several end-users to opt for thermal cyclers. Compared to the global market, India has an enormous scope for the growth of thermal cycler market. Bio-Rad, Eppendorf, Labindia, and Roche dominated the real-time thermal cyclers market with a combined market share of 65 percent. Key Growth Drivers The main factor driving the thermal cyclers' market is the increase in government funding for basic research, which has allowed government-funded universities and research laboratories to purchase high-end capital equipment. Other factors promoting the market are availability of machines providing higher throughput and speed. There is an increasing uptake of traditional thermal cyclers by laboratories performing basic research in the agricultural sector. Swine flu outbreak of 2009 also created a situation in which increased purchasing was made by pathological laboratories and government surveillance laboratories around the country. Additionally, molecular biology laboratories in universities and colleges have started to invest in multiple PCR machines. The traditional thermal cyclers' market is also being driven by the increasing use of PCR in clinical and diagnostic laboratories for prognostic and diagnostic tests. Real-time thermal cyclers' revenue growth is being driven by an overall trend where basic research laboratories, which have been using traditional PCR till recently, are switching to real-time methods. Furthermore, real-time thermal cyclers' revenues are also being driven by growth in the applied markets including human identification, forensic testing, and food testing. Market Trends Nucleic acid amplification and detection are among the most valuable techniques used in biological research today. Scientists in all areas of research, basic science, biotechnology, medicine, forensic science, diagnostics, and so on, rely on these methods for a wide range of applications. The emerging trends and technological transition in the traditional PCR are multiple programmable zones in the same block enabling multiple experimental parameters in the same run, LCD touch-screen feature, individual user accounts, USB ports for uploading and downloading protocols, and lower reaction volumes. The discovery of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) by Kary Mullis in 1983 opened a new avenue for simplifying molecular biology processes. The thermal cycler that enhances PCR reactions was initially a heavy and huge instrument that consumed a lot of space and was expensive. Therefore, very few laboratories possessed a thermal cycler. With continuing technological advancements, the number of thermal cycler manufacturers has increased and a variety of sleek, high-end cyclers have been introduced in the market. Normally, in a conventional PCR, only after the entire reaction is complete, the total number of DNA sequences amplified can be detected using the gel electrophoresis technique. While the conventional cyclers market has slowly attained a mature stage of market growth over the years, real-time cyclers are growing now and are expected to gain market share. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a technique so common place in the modern-day laboratory that it is easy to forget its revolutionary impact. Real-time PCR has removed many of the limitations of standard end-point PCR, and since its introduction in the mid-1990s there has been an explosion in the number of applications of real-time PCR. Real-time PCR (RT-PCR) technology is highly flexible and many alternative instruments and fluorescent probe systems have been developed recently. The decreased hands-on time, increased reliability, and improved quantitative accuracy of RT-PCR methods have contributed to the adoption of RT-PCR for a wide range of new applications. The real-time PCR instrumentation platform consists of a thermal cycler, optics for both fluorescence excitation and emission collection, together with a computer and software for data acquisition and analysis. A wide range of systems are available and these differ in their design and level of sophistication, providing users with several choices, which include: format, reaction vessels, emission and excitation wavelengths, throughput, level of control, chemistry, software, speed, and applications. They all have in common the ability to measure the accumulation of PCR product during the exponential phase of reaction using online fluorescence monitoring, whether specific or non-specific and hence provide accurate data on initial starting copy numbers. As amplification and detection are combined in a single step, the process can occur in a single closed vessel, which eliminates need for numerous post-PCR manual manipulations, as well as reducing the possibility of introducing contamination or variability. Additional technical advantages include both quantitative and qualitative PCR, mutation analysis, multiplexing, and high-throughput analysis. Manufacturers to Address Price Issues to Fuel Market Expansion Thermal cycler market is subject to constant changes, as new technologies are being incorporated into the instrument models. The incorporation of software into these instruments has simplified many laborious manual processes, rendering the PCR process simpler. While a variety of high-end instruments are being manufactured, the cost-effectiveness of thermal cyclers, particularly real-time cyclers, is a major concern among end-users. This issue needs to be addressed by the vendors in thermal cyclers' market. Industry Speak-Eppendorf India Ltd. No New Trends Seen in PCR Technique On market trends 2009 was a little stagnant due to market slowdown and currency fluctuations. The investment by private industries in the first few months was also quite slow. On driving factors Continued investment by government through DBT, DST, and other funding agencies is a major factor that has propelled demand for biotech equipment. PCR is one of the major equipment in agricultural research. There is a higher investment in this area. PCR is also now used quite a bit in molecular diagnostics. Also, with the setting up of new institutes and central universities, the demand for PCR products is growing. We feel that the PCR market will grow by 15-20 percent per annum for the next 3-4 years. On total installation base Total installation base of thermal cyclers would be around 9000 units and Eppendorf's cyclers would be 2560 units. On emerging trends and new technologies PCR as a technique is quite old and we do not expect many exciting new trends to emerge. After focusing a lot on the thermal block, the focus now is on aesthetics and convenience. Another major trend is reduction of the reaction volumes to the extent of 5ul. Validation/ calibration of the instruments is also an area of major focus. Thermal cyclers are being introduced with large displays, touch screens, and user-friendly functionalities. Many cyclers can be upgraded to real-time PCR, which is an attractive feature. PCR machines are now with GLP compliance. Eppendorf has introduced vapo.protect technology to reduce the evaporation, which is a common problem in PCR process. This new technology has been appreciated and accepted worldwide. We also offer a satellite system wherein one control panel can control five thermal modules. Also, Eppendorf offers USB drive and self-test dongle with which end-user can assess the block of the instrument from time to time. On challenges and opportunities In fact, there is no big player in the market that has a manufacturing facility in India. We expect that products from China will, in the short-term, challenge the market leaders.
J. Thiagarajan‚
Venkatesh Voleti‚ Sales in 2009 improved over 2008 mainly due to expansion in diagnostic sector. Coming three years will see tremendous growth in the real-time PCR systems due to indigenous manufacturing of the systems. Value-wise growth is expected to be approximately 50-60 percent. Due to the capital costs involved, earlier the growth was extremely slow in the real-time PCR market as compared with the global market. However, with indigenous manufacturing of IndiGene Quant, the market in India is likely to grow even at a higher pace as compared to the global market. There is an immense export potential as well for the system. Pradeep K. Singhal,
Industry Speak Thermal Cyclers' Market Picking Up
The overall sales in the year 2009 were not very good due to recession and non-allocation of government funds. However, the outlook for the year 2010 is very good and we expect at least 40 percent growth. The growth would come from medical diagnostics sector, bio-pharmaceuticals, food industry, better government funding and newer biotech courses offered by colleges/ universities. On driving factors The major driving factors are increasing use of thermal cyclers in disease diagnostics, food testing and DBT/ ICAR/CSIR-funded newer research projects. On total installation base Total installation base would be about 2000 thermal cyclers in India. Genetix installation base is about 280 thermal cyclers. On emerging trends and new technologies High-end PCR, high throughput gradient PCR, robotic PCR, and quantitative PCR contribute to the new technologies. On challenges and opportunities
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The completion of the human genome project has created new avenues in the field of molecular biology. As a result, the concept of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is being widely accepted in the scientific community. Accordingly, the sale of thermal cyclers is growing, and the end-user platform has widened from drug discovery to various fields of molecular biology such as DNA sequencing, gene expression, forensic finger printing, and paternity testing. Furthermore, government is focusing on funding biotechnological research, which has encouraged several end-users to opt for thermal cyclers.
The market for thermal cyclers in India may be segmented into traditional thermal cyclers and real-time thermal cyclers. In 2009, thermal cyclers have observed a unit-wise growth of 20 percent with total 1520 units sold, valued at Rs. 55 crore. Traditional thermal cycler is the major contributor to the market with sales of 1320 units, valued at Rs. 29 crore. And real-time thermal cyclers had a sale of 200 units valued at Rs. 26 crore.
PCR market is observing a growth of 20 percent every year with the market reaching about 2000 numbers in three years. Labmate Asia has about 175 machines installations till now from Genetech and Finnzymes. We are shortly launching real time upgrade from Genetech along with real time fast PCR launching from Finnzymes. Our principals/channel partners are Gene Technologies, UK and Finnzymes of Finland.
Thermal cyclers market is experiencing 30 percent year-on-year growth. Strong growth has come from plant life sciences and clinical sectors. Some of the factors driving this segment are availability of thermal cyclers with higher throughput and speed (ramp rates). Some of the emerging technologies include possibility of connecting multiple units to the same control unit, and saving programs using USB drives, assisting in designing and suggesting PCR protocols, and block suited for fast ramp rates.
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