Non-healthcare market workplace legislation and rising drug abuse in prisons boost uptake of DATs for non-healthcare applications, says market research
While still lagging behind its US counterpart, there are signs that the nascent European market for drugs of abuse tests (DAT) in non-healthcare (non-HC) applications is poised for takeoff. Legislation promoting drug screening in the workplace, rising levels of drug abuse amongst Europe's prison population and enhanced government funding are expected to boost adoption rates of DATs.
Lingering concerns over invasion of privacy, however, threaten to stifle market penetration.
Worth an estimated $35 million in revenues in 2002, the European DAT non-HC market trailed the $45 million DAT healthcare market.
Prevailing attitudes linking drug testing to invasion of privacy and European Commission proposals to provide more privacy in the workplace have been identified as critical inhibitors to market growth.
Widespread apathy towards routine or random screening for DOA has further restrained market development.
This indifference has been particularly acute in the Mediterranean region and is in marked contrast to the situation in the USA.
"In the USA, drug testing policies are largely accepted and considered practical.
"Today, in Europe, the majority of people are only beginning to become aware of the benefits of drug screening, given the general lack of legislation," explains Frost and Sullivan healthcare analyst Alex Wong.
"For example, although safety-critical industries, such as railways and petrochemical have long had established testing policies, a European-wide protocol for legally defensible workplace drug testing (WPDT) has only recently been introduced," he adds. At present, just one in ten companies at most are estimated to have implemented a drug-testing policy within UK, Europe's most developed WPDT market.
However, more comprehensive legislation in the workplace, particularly in the UK, is set to expand routine/random testing from safety-critical industries into business-critical occupations as well.
By boosting productivity, lowering absenteeism, improving security and raising profitability, WPDT has proven to be a runaway success in the USA.
A spill over effect is set to be felt within Europe, creating exciting growth opportunities for both laboratory and point-of-care (POC) DATs.
As competition intensifies and a wider selection of test technologies becomes available, the average price of DATs is likely to decline.
Concerns over revenue contraction due to the fall in prices are likely to be offset by a rise in end-user applications.
Potential high growth sectors are likely to include the workplace (occupational health and pre-employment screening), criminal justice services, and clinical pharmacology.
As knowledge of test applications grows, uptake of DATs is poised to rise in other sectors such as education and insurance companies.
Considerable investments, estimated at over $700 million, by European governments are expected to fund national strategies combating drug abuse.
These ambitious, large-scale, long-term projects are expected to be key to sustaining the development of the DAT market.
Rampant drug abuse amongst Europe's prison population - over one in three inmates are believed to be regularly consuming drugs while in prison or in young offender institutes in certain countries - is an escalating problem.
Routine testing is now the norm in many countries and is expected to become a more regular feature of prison life in the near future.
"In the UK, for instance, where mandatory drug testing is carried out in conjunction with cell searches, this has proven to be a highly effective tool in tackling the drug abuse problem.
"Given its success, the UK model is likely to be adopted by other countries in the near-term," says Wong.
Driven by these trends, the European DAT market is forecast to reach approximately $61 million in 2009, of which the laboratory segment is expected to continue to account for the vast majority of revenues.
Propelled by the anticipated introduction of new legislation allowing roadside testing, the embryonic POC DATs segment is expected to experience faster growth rates than lab-based tests.
It will be aided by the development of non-invasive testing techniques using oral fluid, saliva and sweat.
By 2009, approximately one in three DATs is projected to be performed on the POC format.
Of the 15 companies active in the total non-healthcare market for DATs in 2002, the top three - Dade Behring, Microgenics and, Abbott Diagnostics- accounted for a market share of over 70 percent.
With the POC DAT market set for rapid growth, keen interest is being displayed in Cozart Biosciences's RapiScan, Securetec's DrugWipe and OraSure Technologies/Drager Safety 's Uplink.
Germany is currently the largest market for non-healthcare DATs in Europe. The increase of workplace drug testing and impending roadside testing is likely to advance the development of the second-placed U.K.
market while the 'zero-tolerance' policies towards drug abuse observed in several Sweden and Finland is likely to see Scandinavia consolidate its position as third largest market for DATs.
