Global Viral Transport Medium Market Driven by Increasing Prevalence of Infectious Diseases

Viral transport medium (VTM) assumed importance globally when the new H1N1 influenza virus was identified, causing the world's first flu pandemic in more than 40 years. Since then, it has been used majorly by hospitals, labs, and academic/research institutes for transporting viral samples across the research and clinical value chain. During the transport, the virus, if present, in the sample specimen should remain intact until the testing is completed. More recently, the sudden onset of the COVID-19 pandemic significantly boosted the demand for transport medium products and related kits. With the fast spread of the COVID-19 virus, many countries prioritized diagnostic testing for quick diagnosis of the virus, fuelling an exponential increase in the demand for VTM kits for sample collection from suspected COVID-19 patients. Other viral infections, such as influenza, herpes, varicella, respiratory syncytial virus, and viral infectious diseases, also demand quick diagnosis in which VTM kits play a vital role in the collection, preservation, and transportation of specimens. As a result, the global VTM market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 3.51% during 2022-2027, driven by the increasing prevalence of infectious diseases.

These are the latest findings of Research and Markets (Dublin, Ireland), the world’s largest market research store.

Image: The global VTM market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 3.51% during 2022-2027 (Photo courtesy of Pexels)

VTM kits are constantly in demand due to the increasing prevalence of infectious diseases. The rising prevalence of viral infectious diseases has fueled an increase in the use of VTM kits. Some of the viral infectious diseases are COVID-19, influenza virus, enterovirus D68, herpes, varicella, RSV, etc. For diagnosing these diseases, the collection of samples, preservation, and transportation is required, with VTM kits being the most prominently used solutions by practitioners.

The demand for viral transport increased exponentially during the COVID-19 pandemic. The rise in COVID-19 testing across the world led to an increase in the consumption rate of VTM test kits. Millions of COVID-19 tests were done daily from June 2020 to January 2022, which proved to be a major turning point for the VTM market. With academic/research institutes intensifying their experiments for developing vaccines and mass testing to stop the spread of COVID-19 globally, vendors also increased their manufacturing capacities and produced billions of VTM kits. The companies have been focusing on innovation and developing kits containing double-ended flocked swabs, vials, antibiotics, and other items that inhibit microbial contamination.

In addition, with the continuous increase in seasonal flu cases, manufacturers are also manufacturing viral transport for influenza tests, owing to influenza-related morbidity and mortality in many countries. Efforts to improve the diagnostic rate and accuracy of viral infectious diseases continue to drive the VTM market growth as this requires laboratory testing of clinical specimens to identify the virus, viral antigens, and antibodies. In addition, a rapid increase in the aging population, rise in the number of people undergoing various voluntary surgeries and other factors have also accelerated the requirement for various diagnostic tests that involve the use of VTM kits.

Geographically, North America accounts for the largest share of the global VTM market due to a high number of laboratory tests conducted during the pandemic, presence of biopharma companies, large number of laboratories, well-developed healthcare services, and research studies carried out in the region. Influenza viral infections continue to increase in the African, North America, and Asia Pacific regions, which will require quick diagnosis and the need for collection, preservation, and transportation of specimens, thereby driving the growth of the global VTM market.