NEW YORK, February 12 -- The microarray market, finding fertile fields in drug discovery and development, could grow to $5 billion by the end of the decade, according to a market study announced today by New York based Kalorama Information, a market researcher.
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The study covers DNA/gene, protein, cell, and tissue microarrays as well as including proprietary targets, proprietary surface technologies, services, databases, and informatics to yield its predictions. The study uses a analytic focus of market potential and points to drug discovery and development as the immediate opportunity, while noting long-term application in life sciences research and clinical practice in "coming decades."
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While no one can predict the future, there is some optimism for the growth of microarray-based analysis. Today, the market is seen as measuring some $500 million a year, based on revenues from companies like Affymetrix, Agilent and others engaged in producing microarrays. However, it is an emerging market, and one that is challenging to accurately measure since it is a mix of home-brew spotting technologies, commercial and open-source informatics with ancillary monies coming from sales of things like the glass slips used to make some microarrays and the emerging services market.
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