Niche suppliers are competing well against larger companies by offering increasingly specialised antibodies, immunoassay kits and reagents and recombinant proteins, says market report
Santa Cruz Biotechnology, R and D Systems, and Peprotech are major players in the market for cytokine- and growth factor-related products.
These niche suppliers are competing well against larger companies such as Amersham Biosciences and Promega by offering increasingly specialised antibodies, immunoassay kits and reagents and recombinant proteins.
These findings were published by BioInformatics in a new life science market report, 'Market opportunities in cytokine and growth factor research'.
The in-depth report examines the products and techniques most commonly used by cytokine researchers, including cell-based, protein-based and RNA-based assays.
Based on a comprehensive survey of more than 650 qualified researchers, the report details experimental design, product throughput, assay limitations, supplier market share and the product attributes and suppliers with which researchers are most satisfied.
Cytokines and growth factors are small, multifunctional proteins critical to the body's response to disease and infection.
With many potential benefits, it is not surprising that pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies are spending large sums of money to find new ways to analyse and modulate the activities of these molecules.
This research is taking on greater significance as the completed sequence of the human genome reveals potential new drug targets related to cytokines, growth factors and receptors. Moreover, the molecules are appearing more frequently in the drug development pipelines of biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies.
Despite this resurgence of interest, the majority of scientists surveyed believe that cytokine assays and related reagents are too expensive.
In fact, high costs for equipment may account for the lower usage of certain assays in academia compared to the industry sector.
While price is a discriminating factor for researchers choosing one cell-based or protein-based cytokine assay over another, assay sensitivity is the primary purchase driver.
Assay specificity is also an important feature, although not as critical as other factors.
"The niche-entry approach and relatively weak customer purchasing power characteristic of this market has apparently enabled suppliers to avoid rigorous price competition to date.
And as customers continue to demand increasingly specialised products, it appears that suppliers will be able to avoid competing on price in the near future.
Instead, suppliers seeking market share will need to focus on product performance and quality," notes Robin Rothrock, director of market research at BioInformatics. Understanding the challenges that cytokine/growth factor researchers face is essential for life science suppliers aiming to meet customer expectations.
To that end, the report drills down to examine the needs, experiences and preferences of scientists when using specific products that support the cell- and protein-based assays, such as antibodies, immunoassay kits and reagents and recombinant proteins.
For example, survey data indicate that scientists are relatively less satisfied with antibodies that are used on fixed tissue.
This is significant in light of the fact that 44% of survey respondents listed immunohistochemistry as the primary application for which they purchase cytokine or growth factor antibodies.
"Suppliers who can develop a reputation for providing high quality antibodies for immunohistochemistry should gain a significant competitive advantage in this market," notes Rothrock. "Furthermore, our survey results indicate that niche suppliers may need to start offering more antibody variety to maintain a leadership position and keep customers satisfied." With regard to the immunoassay kits and reagents used in cytokine/growth factor research, the report finds that respondents often struggle with a low signal-to-noise ratio when optimising their cytokine assays.
Additionally, scientists reported a lack of commercially available recombinant proteins and immunoassay kits and reagents for the species in which they are most interested.
When asked how suppliers could better meet their needs, respondents indicated the need for end-to-end product solutions.
Indeed, the study reveals that cytokine/growth factor researchers are likely to use antibodies, recombinant proteins and immunoassay kits and reagents to varying degrees to achieve their experimental objectives.
"Thus, suppliers may also consider a strategy that enables researchers to easily integrate the various elements of the product mix," says Rothrock.
