Study: genomics equipment market worth $US2bn by 2007

The worldwide market for genomics equipment and services used to accelerate drug discovery and development is forecasted to increase from $US987 million this year to more than $US2 billion in 2007, according to a new study by US company Front Line Strategic Consulting.

According to the study, the expiration of patents on blockbuster drugs is a major growth driver. During the next three years, patents on drugs that have produced $US38.6 billion for pharmaceuticals will expire, and the industry is counting on genomics to refill the drug pipeline.

The study says that functional genomics - including microarray technology, non-array gene expression, knockout and transgenic animals and reagents - will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 15 per cent.

It says that based on analysis of current technologies, forecast market share, patent positions and existing deal structures, Applied Biosystems and Gene Logic are well-positioned to emerge as leaders in the non-array based gene expression technologies market in 2007.

"Notably, these market share gains will come at the expense of the current industry leader, Affymetrix, which currently dominates with 25 per cent of the total functional genomics market," the report says.

Microarrays currently account for 60 per cent of the market, led by Affymetrix's oligonucleotide array technology.

"By 2007, microarray manufacturers will lose market share as profiles are documented for many relevant genes, and analysis moves toward technologies with greater drug target validation accuracy," the study says.

"However, microarrays and other high-throughput functional genomics technologies generate vast amounts of raw data, fueling an increase in the number of companies developing new and innovative solutions for functional genomics analysis and data archiving."

But the lack of a standardised analysis and data archiving system would hinder the widespread adoption of functional genomics technologies, the company says.