Global COVID-19 Saliva-Based Screening Market to Continue Growing Due to Ease of Use and Shorter Test-to-Result

The global COVID-19 saliva-based screening market was valued at over USD 1.7 billion in 2020 and is gaining traction, as it is patient-friendly, easy to use, and has a shorter test-to-result timeline.

These are the latest findings of Persistence Market Research (New York City, NY, USA), a market research company.


COVID-19 saliva-based screening plays a dynamic role in screening asymptomatic persons, thus sustaining market growth. This is mainly owing to numerous advantages offered by saliva-based tests, growing product approvals by FDA, and a shift toward point-of-care testing. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, several key players have entered the saliva-based screening market. Furthermore, manufacturers are investing extensively in research & development activities to develop novel techniques that can allow rapid testing and accurate results.

Additionally, the ageing population is more susceptible to viral infections due to patient comorbidities, which is expected to boost the demand for COVID-19 saliva-based screening. New COVID-19 saliva tests make testing easier for all ages since the saliva-based method enables a simpler and quicker collection of samples. The current market is still powered by other specimen testing kits that use samples apart from saliva, such as blood and nasopharyngeal swabs, although many new players are expected to launch saliva-based kits. With the rising adoption of saliva-based screening, saliva as a sample is expected to rule the specimen type.

Moreover, the outbreak of the novel coronavirus and its rapid spread has forced countries to impose compulsory guidelines for COVID-19 diagnostics and other activities such as travelling. Many countries have made it mandatory to issue a negative COVID-19 test to travel internationally as well as domestically. Also, to break the chain, government guidelines have also included testing of individuals who may have come in contact with infected persons. A rise in the number of tests due to government norms and guidelines offers considerable growth opportunities for the COVID-19 saliva-based screening market.

However, the market for COVID-19 saliva-based screening products is expected to gradually decline over the years due to increasing focus on vaccination across countries, support from developing countries to supply vaccinations to underdeveloped countries, and the population attaining herd immunity. Nevertheless, with the occurrence of the second wave in countries in the last two quarters and the anticipated outbreak of the second and third waves across different countries, the demand for COVID-19 saliva-based screening will remain high. Hence, COVID-19 saliva-based screening is expected to experience further growth during the forecast period due to the pandemic.

Based on product, saliva-based detection kits are leading the COVID-19 saliva-based screening market with a share of over 83%. The inclination towards saliva-based tests can be due to escalating demand for home-based COVID-19 testing using saliva-based detection kits. By technology, RT-qPCR technology holds a share of around 49% of the global COVID-19 saliva-based screening market, primarily due to increasing focus on rapid testing and growing research activities. The segment’s high share can also be attributed to continued demand in areas such as gene expression analysis, genetic variation analysis, and genotyping, along with increasing focus on the development of RT-qPCR technology. Based on application, COVID-19 diagnostics held a large share of 63% in 2021. The rising prevalence of COVID-19, need for rapid diagnostics, and increasing demand for home-based COVID-19 testing are contributing to the growth of COVID-19 diagnostics. Diagnostic laboratories dominate the market among end-users with a share of 27%. Diagnostic laboratories will provide lucrative opportunities for market growth owing to growing incidence of COVID-19 and increased virus mutation, which has led to an increase in the need for rapid detection with more accuracy.

Geographically, Europe is set to dominate the global COVID-19 saliva-based screening market with a value share of around 36%. Russia dominates the European market for COVID-19 saliva-based screening with a share of 21%. North America is slated to be the second-largest leading market for COVID-19 saliva-based screening with a value share of 34% through 2031. The US dominated the North American market with a total share of 91% in 2021, and is projected to continue experiencing low to moderate growth throughout the forecast period. Moreover, increasing incidence rate of COVID-19 in the US is also boosting demand for COVID-19 saliva-based screening.

Related Links:
Persistence Market Research