Annual Growth of POC Tests Forecast at Six Percent

The USD 16.7 billion market for point of care (POC) testing is expected to grow at the rate of 6 percent a year, slightly higher than the in vitro diagnostics market as a whole. In the late 1990s, the POC diagnostic market was expected to grow at a rate of 15% to 20% per year. While it has grown and is now a significant segment of the overall in vitro diagnostic (IVD) market, the rapid growth rates originally expected were not achieved.

POC testing includes in vitro diagnostic (IVD) tests performed by the patients themselves, such as glucose monitoring, pregnancy tests, and cholesterol tests, as well as tests performed at physicians’ offices, clinics and other patient care centers. Kalorama's analysis does not include tests sent to a central laboratory for processing. Much of the POC testing is carried out for glucose monitoring although in some cases coagulation and infectious disease testing can also be performed at the POC.

A Kalorama Information (New York, NY, USA) report authored by Sannes & Associates indicated that, “Growth in POC testing is being fueled by chronic diseases, the globalization of infectious diseases, and the associated public health issues. Advances in therapies are giving physicians more tools for the treatment of patients if they are able to rapidly diagnose the problem, which is helping to make the case for POC test purchases and investment in companies that provide them.”

The report contains a detailed segment breakdown of revenues, profiles of companies in the market, and a discussion of trends. New POC innovations are also detailed in the report.

The Kalorama report lists 140 companies that currently market POC tests, plus over 40 companies that are developing POC technologies and products. Companies profiled in the report use a wide range of different technologies to develop and market rapid tests for use at POC. These include a large number of IVD tests that are performed today only in centralized laboratories.

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