POC diagnostics market to reach almost $3 billion by 2021

Research and consulting firm GlobalData has projected that the point-of-care (POC) diagnostics market will experience solid growth from $2.13 billion in 2015 to just under $3 billion by 2021, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.3%.

The report ‘MediPoint: Point of Care Diagnostics — Global Analysis and Market Forecasts’ states that such growth will occur across the 10 major markets of the US, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK, Japan, China, India and Brazil. It will be driven by factors such as the increasing prevalence of lifestyle-related and infectious diseases, the increasing adoption of cardiac markers in emergency departments, the growing home-testing market and the potential for POC devices to accelerate patient care decision-making and reduce overall hospital lengths of stay.

“Particularly important in the growth of the POC market is the emergence of more accurate molecular POC technologies for infectious disease testing,” said GlobalData’s analyst covering medical devices, Wenlu Hu.

The market for cardiac marker POC tests alone will reach $507.5 million by 2021, noted Hu. These tests can assist with the diagnosis of conditions such as acute coronary syndrome, explained Hu, thus enabling faster discharge of patients from emergency departments.

Beyond hospitals and healthcare facilities, home-testing medical devices are also on the rise as the penetration and expansion of POC tests into the over-the-counter (OTC) consumer market is substantially driving market growth. Hu explained, “Many new tests are available in OTC formats, including meters for anticoagulation monitoring, urine pregnancy tests and fertility tests.

“In line with the OTC pharmaceutical market, the trend towards POC home testing will most likely continue to expand, possibly into areas such as concussions, reflecting a greater awareness of consumerism in the laboratory testing market.”

The report can be found on the GlobalData website.

Originally published here.