Global Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing Market - 2022-2029

Market Overview

The global antimicrobial susceptibility testing market size was growing at a CAGR of 5.4% during the forecast period (2022-2029).

Antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) is a laboratory technique conducted by medical technologists or clinical laboratory scientists to determine which antimicrobial regimen is particularly efficacious for individual patients. On an enormous scale, it helps evaluate treatment services delivered by hospitals, clinics, and national programs for managing and preventing infectious diseases.

Market Dynamics

The global antimicrobial susceptibility testing market growth is driven by technological advancement, a rising prevalence of infectious disease, rising funding for research and development from government and private organizations, and advancements in healthcare infrastructure.

The rising need for antimicrobial susceptibility testing across the globe drives the market growth

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has appeared as a major threat to public health worldwide. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), antibiotic resistance is rising to dangerously high levels in all regions of the world, leading to raised morbidity and mortality. In addition, the World Bank estimates that drug-resistant infections could induce a global economic crisis, leading to 28 million people who could be moved into extreme poverty every year by 2050, with an overall cost to the global economy of USD 1 trillion per year.

Exact and quick detection of resistance to antimicrobial drugs and following appropriate antimicrobial treatment, incorporated with antimicrobial stewardship, are crucial for controlling the emergence and spread of AMR. The best therapeutic option for treating bacterial infections relies on the results of AST, a part of the routine work of all clinical microbiological laboratories. Reports provide an understanding of local antimicrobial susceptibility patterns, helping healthcare professionals select the most effective antibiotic therapy. For instance, if the AMR rate of a pathogen is above 20%, that drug should not be administered as a single empiric therapy for infection treatment.

In addition, the market players are adopting the market strategies such as acquisition and product launches. For instance, in April 2022, BIOMERIEUX agreed to acquire Specific Diagnostics. This privately held U.S.-based company has developed a rapid antimicrobial susceptibility test (AST), SPECIFIC REVEAL Rapid AST system that delivers phenotypic AST directly from positive blood cultures. Moreover, in February 2020, Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. acquired Exact Diagnostics, a developer and manufacturer of diagnostic products that help ensure the validity and consistency of test results. With the acquisition of Exact Diagnostics, Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. has access to a comprehensive catalog of molecular quality control products in transplant, respiratory, virology, microbiology, sexually transmitted infections, and vector-borne diseases.

The drawbacks of antimicrobial susceptibility testing products/instruments will hamper the growth of the market

However, besides high costs, major drawbacks of molecular methods are the detection of the resistance genes targeted only by the available probes and overestimating resistance because the resistance gene is not necessarily associated with the expression of a resistance phenotype. In addition, automated and semi-automated systems have inherent advantages and limitations, and the results vary widely by antimicrobial drugs, software versions, and cards. Hence, some systems are unreliable for correctly categorizing susceptibility profiles for certain drugs, leading to wrong classifications of susceptibility categories. It appears that small inoculum size significantly influences the outcome of these systems, with false susceptibilities being reported.

COVID-19 Impact Analysis

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the limited ability to work with AMR partnerships decreased funding, and reduced availability of nursing, medical, and public health staff affected AMR surveillance, prevention, and control. According to the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) 2020 report, there is a critical need for rapid diagnostics to determine if a patient has an infection, determine viral and bacterial sources, and identify the etiologic agent and its susceptibility profile. Labs can guide the right-first-time clinical decisions in fast-paced environments by fast identifying the suspected pathogen and determining its susceptibility to treatment. Not only can this significantly improve individual outcomes, but the approach also avoids unnecessary antibiotic use. In addition, increased use of disinfectants, including hand sanitizers and surface cleaners, is anticipated to cause inflated rates of antimicrobial resistance in pathogenic microbes in the coming years.

Segment Analysis

The automated laboratory instruments segment is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR during the forecast period (2022-2029)

The automated laboratory instruments segment accounts for the largest market share. As per the article published in Antibiotics Journal in 2022, current technologies for rapid AST are available in the market, including automated and semi-automated devices based on microdilution susceptibility testing. For instance, the Phoenix System is widely accepted and used in clinical microbiology laboratories for identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing. The principle of determining the susceptibility is based on using an oxidation-reduction indicator (Alamar blue or resazurin dye) and detecting bacterial growth in the presence of various concentrations of the antimicrobial agent. Also, The MicroScan WalkAway plus System provides accurate and rapid identification and susceptibility results for a wide range of Grampositive and Gram-negative aerobic bacteria.

In addition, The first generation of the MicroScan WalkAway System available on the market is the AutoSCAN-3. The new versions of instruments Auto-ACAN-4 and AutoSCAN-WalkAway are improved and use dry panels that do not need refrigeration. The AutoSCAN-WalkAway system detects bacterial enzymatic activity and can process 96 panels simultaneously. The availability of advanced and automated systems for AST boosts the market worldwide.

Geographical Analysis

North America region holds the largest market share of the global Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing market

North America dominates the market for antimicrobial susceptibility testing and is expected to show a similar trend over the forecast period. The growth of the North American antimicrobial susceptibility testing market can be attributed to technological advancements, rising infectious disease, increasing launching of products and the presence of key players.

According to the bioMerieux organization, more than 2.8 million antibiotic-resistant infections occur annually in the United States. The emergence of resistant bacteria is an unpretending phenomenon worsened and accelerated by the improper use of antibiotics. Rising antimicrobial susceptibility testing in the region drives the market.

In addition, the market players are adopting the market strategies such as acquisition and product launches. For instance, in May 2022, Accelerate Diagnostics, Inc. announced the commercialization of its new Accelerate Arc Module and BC kit. The Accelerate Arc Module and BC kit is a new application of inline centrifugation and automated sample prep techniques, which, together with the blood culture kit, provides a suspension of cleaned microbial cells for direct transfer to a MALDI spotting plate. In addition, Accelerate PhenoTest BC kit AST configuration enables laboratories to report identification and antimicrobial susceptibility test results directly from positive blood cultures days earlier than current standard-of-care methods.

Competitive Landscape

The antimicrobial susceptibility testing market is a moderately competitive presence of local and global companies. Some of the key players contributing to the market's growth are bioMerieux S.A., Danaher Corporation, Becton, Dickinson and Company, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc., Merck Group, HiMedia Laboratories, Alifax Holding S.p.A., Creative Diagnostics, and Synbiosis, among others. The major players are adopting several growth strategies, such as product launches, acquisitions, and collaborations, contributing to the growth of the global antimicrobial susceptibility testing market.

For instance,

• In October 2021, Thermo Fisher Scientific and Q-linea launched ASTar Technology, a quick antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) system that provides true minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) data in less than 6 hours. Conventional AST techniques might take up to 72 hours to obtain findings.

bioMerieux SA

Overview:

bioMerieux SA is an organization that provides solutions for microbiology, which is used in clinical labs to provide effective results because time-to-diagnosis and therapeutic efficacy are paramount to infection control, preventing and managing multi-drug resistance and improving patient outcomes.

Product Portfolio:

VITEK 2: It is an automated susceptibility testing system capable of determining the extensive majority of routine organisms (around 300 microorganisms). This system gives results within hours due to the combination of analysis software and an original, miniaturized consumable. This testing system is available for a various range of microorganisms.

The global antimicrobial susceptibility testing market report would provide access to approximately 40+ market data tables, 45+ figures, and in the range of 200 (approximate) pages.