Lateral Flow Assay Market Expected to Reach $13.3 Billion by 2030—Allied Market Research

According to a new report published by Allied Market Research, titled, “lateral flow assay market by product, technique, application and end user: global opportunity analysis and industry forecast, 2021–2030," the global market was valued at $8,351.30 million in 2020 and is projected to reach $13,352.90 million by 2030 registering a CAGR of 4.70% from 2021 to 2030.

Lateral flow assays, also referred to as lateral flow immunechromatographic assays, are cellulose-based technique used to detect presence of a target analyte in a sample without the need for specialized and costly equipment and highly skilled healthcare professionals for their operation, which has gained significant traction in homecare settings, therefore, propels the market growth.

Increase in spread of various chronic and infectious diseases, rise in use of home-based lateral flow assay kits, growth in government initiatives toward promoting health awareness, growth in demand for point-of-care testing, increase in adoption of LFA, owing to innovations, and advantages of LFA rapid tests over laboratory tests are the major factors that propel the lateral flow assay market growth. Moreover, recent outbreak of COVID-19 has positively affected growth of the lateral flow assays market. However, stringent and time-consuming regulatory policies for assays performed to detect presence or absence of any analyte and unwillingness of people toward changing existing medical practices restrain the market growth. Advancements in technology and increase in applications of lateral flow assay tests in clinical diagnostics provide lucrative opportunities for the lateral flow assay market growth.

The lateral flow assays market has been positively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, as the need for rapid diagnosis of coronavirus infection has been the focus since the inception of the pandemic outbreak in December 2019. As the number of cases have increased across regions, most of the major lateral flow assay market players have invested in R&D as well as have entered into partnerships and agreements with other industry players and government agencies to develop lateral flow diagnostic solutions for the disease. This has resulted in multiple product launches of COVID-19 antibody and antigen tests, with surplus production and distribution of these tests across regions to serve the rising demand. Although diagnostic accuracy of these tests is lower than some other methods, their affordability, convenience, ease of use, and quick turnaround time have led to their high uptake and acceptance, especially for screening for data collection. 

The lateral flow assay market is segmented on the basis of product, technique, application, end user, and region. By technique, the market is classified into competitive assay, sandwich assay, and multiplex detection assay. By product, it is bifurcated into lateral flow readers and kits & reagents. The lateral flow readers segment is further sub segmented into digital/mobile readers, mobile/smartphone readers, and benchtop readers. Applications covered in the study include veterinary diagnostics, clinical testing, food safety & environment testing, and drug development & quality testing. The clinical testing segment is further divided into infectious disease testing, cardiac marker testing, pregnancy & fertility testing, cholesterol & lipid testing, drugs-of-abuse testing, and others. According to end user, the market is segmented into home care, diagnostic laboratories, hospitals & clinics, pharmaceutical & biotechnology companies and others.. Region wise, the market is analyzed across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA.

By technique, the sandwich assays segment accounted for the largest share of the lateral flow assay kits & reagents market. Wide applications of these assays in clinical testing and advantages associated with the use of these assays, such as higher sensitivity and specificity for larger analytes, are the major factors that drive growth of this segment. 

Key Findings Of The Study 

• On the basis of technique, the sandwich assays segment held the largest share in the global lateral flow assay market in 2020.
• On the basis of product, the lateral flow readers segment held the largest market share in 2020, and is expected to remain dominant during the forecast period. 
• Region wise, North America is expected to experience growth at the highest rate, registering a CAGR of 3.80 % during the forecast period. 

North America is expected to dominate the overall market throughout the forecast period, owing to rise in the incidences of various infectious diseases such as Lyme disease, COVID-19, tuberculosis, and increased mortality rate associated with HIV/AIDS in the region. In North America, the U.S holds the largest market share, owing to increased patient pool and high affordability with increasing disposable income.