According to a recent survey, Applied Biosystems dominates most product categories associated with real-time (kinetic or quantitative) polymerase chain reaction
According to a recent survey, Applied Biosystems dominates most product categories associated with real-time (kinetic or quantitative) polymerase chain reaction (PCR), including kits, fluorescent detection chemistries and instrumentation.
Roche Applied Science and Qiagen also have considerable market share. In spite of this, more and more suppliers are being attracted to this marketplace by its size, low barriers-to-entry and opportunities for differentiation.
These findings were recently published in BioInformatics latest report, 'The Market for Real-Time PCR Reagents and Instrumentation', which is based on a detailed 52-question survey of over 400 scientists who currently perform kinetic or real-time quantitative PCR.
Given that real-time PCR is an important scientific development with a host of potential applications, the report describes the research interests, levels of usage, preferred vendors and unmet needs of these end-users.
Real-time PCR can be performed using either RNA or DNA templates.
However, the need to validate increasing amounts of microarray-generated gene expression data and the enhanced analytical sensitivity associated with real-time detection has led most customers to use RNA templates when performing real-time PCR.
This reaction is also known as real-time or quantitative reverse transcriptase (RT)-PCR.
In fact, only 17% of the survey respondents exclusively use DNA as a template.
Despite the dominant market share position of Applied Biosystems in the real-time PCR market, Invitrogen's SuperScript II reverse transcriptase leads the market for first-strand DNA synthesis enzymes.
"This preference for Invitrogen's enzyme demonstrates that when given the choice, researchers favour the ability to choose among suppliers rather than exclusively buy from one supplier.
Scientists surveyed expressed an interest in choosing products on a case-by-case basis rather than buying a supplier's complete line. However, rather than buying separate components, some may actually buy end-to-end solutions just to avoid the frustration of discontinuous product support," says Robin Rothrock, director of market research at BioInformatics.
The report also investigates scientists' purchasing motivations for kits and individual components.
For example, in the real-time RT-PCR market, kit users value the convenience of an optimised system, whereas scientists using components (including standard first-strand synthesis kits) value flexibility and perceived cost savings.
According to Rothrock, "Although scientists consistently assume component use to be more cost-effective than kits on a per-reaction basis, the average price per reaction varies by less than a dollar.
There is essentially no difference in cost between the use of kits and components when considering the real-time reactions that start with DNA." Overall, scientists reported that they are satisfied with the reagents and kits that they are currently using for real-time RT-PCR. "Reproducibility is the most essential attribute among those surveyed.
Even though respondents reported that they were less satisfied with the prices they're paying, the derived importance of price is lower than all other attributes with the exception of kit size," notes Rothrock.
The report also evaluates scientists' satisfaction with real-time PCR kits and reagents, fluorescently labelled oligonucleotides and real-time quantitative PCR instruments.
"Survey data indicates that market dominance does not drive satisfaction.
In fact, market leaders may face pressure from competitors who capitalise on customer satisfaction to grab a larger piece of the market.
Additionally, competitors could differentiate themselves either by focusing on a particular customer segment's needs, such as throughput, speed or cost, to achieve meaningful market share," says Rothrock.
From basic researchers wanting to understand cellular processes to the detection of infectious agents, the potential market for real-time PCR continues to expand.
New users from both academic and industrial laboratories continue to enter the market and half of the current customers expect the number of assays that they perform to increase over the next 12 months.
'The Market for Real-Time PCR Reagents and Instrumentation' will assist life science companies vying for a position in this growing market by providing a comprehensive perspective on current and emerging research trends, and potential tie-ins with other laboratory products.
An executive summary of the report can be viewed on the Bioinformatics website (link below).
