Steady demand for Covid-19 testing

Demand in the Covid-19 tests market has dramatically declined since its peak in Q4 2021. Additionally, while there was a spike in purchases of Covid-19 tests during December 2020 – January 2021 and December 2021 – January 2022, that spike did not occur during December 2022 – January 2023. However, despite the fact that there have been decreases in the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases, there is still a steady demand for testing. To put this in perspective, current GlobalData estimates show that the Covid-19 tests market revenue for January 2023 is equivalent to 70% of the market revenue for December 2020, when testing was in dire need.

While Covid-19 is no longer a pressing concern for many people due to vaccine rollouts and health and safety policies, a percentage of the population still takes these tests to monitor for potential infections, when in preparation for international travel, or due to working at companies that require employees to provide a negative test in order to return to work. This has resulted in a more resilient market than previously expected.

Cepheid continues to be the clear market leader in Covid-19 testing and has retained this status for the last 18 months, while other competitors such as F Hoffmann-La Roche and Abbott have gradually decreased their market share.

Cepheid’s rollout of products such as Xpert Xpress CoV-2/Flu/RSV plus and Xpert Xpress CoV-2plus has allowed the company to capitalise on concerns about multiple variants of Covid-19, which has been a key mechanism to its success. This product not only has enhanced gene coverage but also tests for multiple influenza-like illnesses. The adaptability of these rapid testing devices will likely benefit them not only in Covid-19 tests but in the overall in vitro diagnostics (IVD) market.

Since Covid-19 remains in an endemic status and the behaviour of the virus makes long-term immunity difficult, the need for testing is expected to be continuous, but not to remain at the same levels shown at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. Companies, such as Cepheid, that can adapt their products to address the changing nature of the virus and future variants will make notable gains in this market. Medical Device Network