South Korea Cell Culture Market Expected to Reach $606.4 Million by 2027

According to a new report published by Allied Market Research, titled, “South Korea Cell Culture Market, by Product, Application, and End User: Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2020–2027,” the South Korea cell culture market size was valued at $216.3 million in 2019, and is projected to reach $606.4 million by 2027, registering a CAGR of 13.7% from 2020 to 2027.

Cell culture is a technique that involves obtaining cells from animals or plants. These obtained cells are then subjected to artificial growth medium. The entire technique involves the use of tools, which are also known as instruments. Some of the instruments include bioreactors, cell culture vessels, and others. In addition, bioreactors are used to carry out biological reaction, which is used to culture aerobic cells. 

Similarly, other instruments such as petri dishes are used to hold growth medium, in which cells can be cultured, roller bottles are revolved slowly, which bathes the cells that are attached to the inner surface with medium. In addition, consumables such as media, sera, reagents, and others are also involved in the cell culture technique. For instance, sera serves as a source of growth and adhesion factor for the culture of cells in basal media. Moreover, cell culture instruments and consumables are used in pharmaceutical & biotechnology companies, research laboratories, and others.

The growth of the cell culture market is driven by various factors such as surge in prevalence of cancer and rise in adoption of cell culture technique. In addition, other factors that contribute toward the growth of the market include growth in awareness related to use of cell culture technique in research as well as increase in research-related funding in South Korea. Furthermore, surge in cancer-related research is another major factor that fuels the growth of the market.

However, high investment related to cell culture vertical is anticipated to restrain the growth of the cell culture market during the forecast period. On the other hand, expected rise in demand for advanced cell culture technologies offers a lucrative opportunity for the growth of the cell culture market.

The South Korea cell culture market is segmented on the basis of product, application, and end user. By product, the South Korea cell culture market is categorized into consumables and instruments. The consumables segment is further divided into sera, media, reagents, and bioreactor accessories. The instrument segment is additionally sub-segmented into bioreactors, cell culture vessels, cell culture storage equipment, and cell culture supporting instruments. The consumables segment led the market in 2019, owing to increase in vertical integration, higher consumption of cell culture consumables along with repeated purchase of cell culture consumables, and rise in demand and preference for alternative media.

On the basis of application, the South Korea cell culture market is classified into stem cell technology, cancer research, drug screening and development, tissue engineering & regenerative medicine, and others.

Increase in the number of cancer research projects and enhanced applications of gene therapies are expected to assist in the lucrative growth of the cancer research segment.

By end user, the South Korea cell culture market is segregated into research institutes, pharmaceutical & biotechnology companies, and others. Some of the major research institutes in South Korea where cell culture techniques are used include King Faisal Research Center, and King Abdullah International Medical Research Centre (KAIMRC) / King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU - HS), King Saud University, King Abdulaziz University, and King Khaled University. These institutes use cell culture instruments and consumables, which are used in cancer related research and regenerative medicine related research, which is supporting the market growth.

The key players functioning in the South Korea cell culture market are Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Merck KGaA, Danaher Corporation (Cytiva), Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc., Sartorius AG, FUJIFILM Holdings Corporation (FUJIFILM Irvine Scientific, Inc.), Corning Incorporated, Avantor, Inc. (VWR International, LLC), Miltenyi Biotec B.V. & Co. KG, and STEMCELL Technologies Inc.

Market participants are implementing growth strategies, namely, new product launches, operational expansion, acquisitions, and partnerships and collaborations to gain a competitive advantage. For instance, in April 2020, Danaher Corporation launched Cytiva in South Korea, which aims to completely rebrand the General Electric’s Healthcare LifeScience business.

Key Findings Of The Study

• On the basis of product, the consumables segment was the highest contributor to the market in 2019
• On the basis of application, the cancer research segment is anticipated to grow with the highest CAGR during the forecast period
• On the basis of end user, the pharmaceutical & biotechnology companies segment dominated the market in 2019, and is expected to continue this trend during the forecast period.