Label Free Detection Market

The global label free detection market in terms of revenue was estimated to be worth $570 million in 2023 and is poised to reach $863 million by 2028, growing at a CAGR of 8.7% from 2023 to 2028. The new research study consists of an industry trend analysis of the market. The new research study consists of industry trends, pricing analysis, patent analysis, conference and webinar materials, key stakeholders, and buying behaviour in the market. The growth of this market is majorly driven by the technological advancements in label-free detection market, growing number academic-industrial partnerships for drug discovery programs and high sensitivity of label-free technologies. On the other hand, high cost of instruments is a major factor restraining market growth to a certain extent.

Attractive Opportunities in Label-Free Detection Market

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Label Free Detection Market Dynamics

DRIVER: Technological advancements in label-free detection

Label-free methods are a relatively new technology in high-throughput screening and provide opportunities for investigating biomolecular interactions without using spatial interference or the auto-fluorescent or quenching effects of labels. Initially, low throughput was a challenge associated with label-free technologies. However, the introduction of SPR-based label-free systems with higher throughput has helped increase overall operational efficiency while providing the high-quality data needed to make informed decisions. For instance, in September 2021, TA Instrument Systems, a subsidiary of Waters Corporation, introduced the TMA 450RH and the Discovery SA. The TMA 450RH provides measurements of dimensional compatibility of materials under controlled temperature and humidity. The Discovery SA is used in pharmaceutical development to assess the impact of moisture in drug product processing and storage on crystalline structure, which is related to drug product efficacy.

RESTRAINT: High cost of instruments

Label-free detection instruments are priced at a premium due to their incorporation of advanced features and functionalities. For instance, a typical bio-layer interferometry system can cost anywhere between USD 50,000 to USD 300,000. Agilent's xCELLigence systems, available for academic and industrial use, fall within the price range of USD 50,000 to USD 500,000, depending on options like throughput. This puts these instruments out of reach for companies with limited R&D budgets, impeding market expansion. Academic research laboratories also face difficulties investing in such instruments due to financial constraints. Moreover, the high initial and ongoing costs, along with weekly maintenance expenses, associated with surface plasmon resonance (SPR) systems, confine label-free platforms to well-funded labs and academic core labs. The complexity of SPR platforms further renders them unsuitable for multi-user laboratories. On the other hand, pharmaceutical companies, with larger R&D budgets, represent the primary users of label-free detection instruments. However, their need for multiple instruments increases their capital expenditure. Consequently, the high cost of these instruments may curtail demand and limit overall market growth.

OPPORTUNITY: Growing life sciences research in emerging economies

The label-free detection market in Asia is experiencing significant growth, primarily propelled by the expanding economies of China and India, as well as increased investments in biotechnology and drug discovery. While most Asian countries currently lack established business models, they possess the scientific expertise necessary to foster robust local biotechnology industries. As a result, there is a growing trend of mergers, collaborations, and partnerships in these emerging countries. Many Asian economies have also modified to their regulations, policies, and guidelines to encourage investments, innovation, and commercialization, leading to a rise in research activities within the life science industry.

Over the years, China’s pharma industry has shifted from primarily focusing on manufacturing generics and copy-cat drugs to research & development of innovative treatments. Many pharma and biopharmaceutical companies, such as Lonza, AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi, and Ferring Pharmaceuticals, have announced plans to invest in life science R&D activities in emerging markets in the coming years. These increasing investments will further boost R&D activities, which, in turn, will provide a range of growth opportunities for players in the market. For instance, in March 2022, Lonza AG, a pharmaceutical company, announced the completion of a laboratory expansion at its API manufacturing site in Nansha, China. The expansion focused on extending the capabilities and capacity of development laboratories and kilogram-scale cGMP manufacturing laboratories for the clinical supply of highly potent APIs (HPAPIs).

CHALLENGE: Sample complexity and interference

Many samples of interest, especially in biological and environmental sciences, are complex heterogenous mixtures containing multiple analytes, macromolecules, cells, or particles. Analyzing such mixtures with label-free techniques can be challenging due to their diverse components, varying concentrations, and potential interactions. The sample matrix, which refers to the composition and characteristics of the surrounding medium or biological fluid, can significantly influence label-free technologies such as SPR and DSC performance and accuracy. Interactions between the analyte of interest and the matrix components can lead to changes in signal intensity, nonspecific binding, or altered kinetics, affecting the accuracy and specificity of the analysis.

Additionally, background noise from impurities, scattering particles, or variations in the sample matrix can mask or interfere with the signals of interest, reducing the signal-to-noise ratio and affecting the detection sensitivity. Furthermore, nonspecific binding, cross-reactivity, and masking effects can affect the sensitivity and specificity of the measurements, leading to difficulties in data analysis and interpretation. It requires a comprehensive understanding of the sample characteristics, careful experimental design, optimization of sample preparation methods, selective surface modifications, reference and control experiments, advanced data analysis techniques, and validation & comparative studies to address the sample complexity and interference challenges. By addressing these challenges, label-free technologies can provide valuable insights into complex samples and enable accurate analysis in diverse research and application fields.

Label-free Detection Market Ecosystem

The label-free detection market is a complex ecosystem involving various stakeholders, including supply side i.e companies providing label-free detection products & services and demand side i.e.  pharmaceutical & biotechnology companies, academic & research institutes, contract research organization and other end users such as food & beverages industry, agriculture and livestock, oil & gas industry, environmental monitoring industry, chemical industry, bioplastics, and Cosmeceuticals industries.

Several key companies provide products for label-free detection. For example, Danaher (US) is a leading provider of scientific products, including a range of solutions for label-free detection. They offer a comprehensive portfolio of instruments, consumables, and software & services. Their products, such as Biacore series of SPR instruments, consumables, and software, are widely used in the biotechnology industry. Other products providers include Sartorius AG (Germany), Waters Corporation (US), PerkinElmer Inc. (US), Ametek, Inc. (US), and others.

The instruments segment dominated label free detection industry by product & service:

The instruments segment held the largest share of the global label free detection market in 2022. The drug discovery industry is adopting label-free technologies for various molecular and cellular assays since it has become vital for drug discovery labs to identify lead failure earlier because of safety concerns. This creates demand for automated and easy-to-use bioanalytical systems, which is driving the growth of instrument segment. Furthermore, with the help of enhanced instrumentation, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies can streamline and simplify laboratory workflows to improve productivity and reduce costs. Both biomolecular interactions and whole cells can be assayed using a variety of label-free instruments available today. Recent advances in label-free instruments offer improved costs, throughput, increased sensitivity, and sophisticated data analysis.

The binding kinetics segment dominated label free detection industry by application

The binding kinetics segment held the largest share of the global label free detection market in 2022. Growth in this segment is mainly driven by factors such as the increasing number of drug discovery research and development activities and increasing efforts to study biomolecular kinetics through label-free detection technologies. Binding kinetic studies measure drug residence time, which is important for predicting clinical outcomes of drugs. Binding kinetics help in understanding how fast a compound binds to its target and how fast it dissociates from it. It measures two things, the on-rate, and the off-rate. Measuring the on- and off-rate used to be a lengthy process. Modern biophysical techniques like SPR enable the direct measurement of on- and off-rates without using labels. SPR is the standard technique routinely used in laboratories for characterizing the affinity and kinetics of drugs binding to target proteins in vitro. It is applicable for a wide range of protein classes, particularly soluble proteins, including enzymes, kinases, and proteases. BLI is another alternative for profiling binding kinetics, mostly for antibodies.

Asia Pacific region of the label free detection industry is estimated to register the highest CAGR during the forecast period.

Asia Pacific offers lucrative growth potential for the label free detection market. This can be attributed to the increasing pharmaceutical R&D spending, the growing trend of outsourcing drug discovery services, growing life sciences research, and increasing government initiatives for healthcare research. One significant growth driver for the label-free detection market in the Asia Pacific region is the increasing investment in healthcare infrastructure and research & development (R&D) activities. Governments and private entities are allocating substantial funds and launching various research programs to enhance healthcare facilities and promote scientific advancements, including label-free detection technologies.

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Life Sciences Innovation Forum (LSIF) and its Regulatory Harmonization Steering Committee (RHSC) adopted a strategic plan (Vision 2020: A Strategic Framework: Regulatory Convergence for Medical Products by 2020). This strategic plan provided the basic proposal and rationale for achieving regional regulatory convergence of medical product approval procedure. The forum’s vision is to accelerate regulatory convergence for medical products in the APEC region as much as possible by 2030 to protect people’s safety, make life-saving products available, save public resources, attract investments, mitigate corruption, and improve global standing in every APEC economy. Thus, favourable regulatory guidelines for product approval is expected to drive the market growth.

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Key players in the label free detection market include Danaher (US), Sartorius AG (Germany), Waters Corporation (US), PerkinElmer, Inc. (US), AMETEK, Inc. (US), HORIBA, Ltd. (Japan), Spectris (UK), METTLER TOLEDO International Inc., (US), Agilent Technologies, Inc. (US), Shimadzu Corporation (Japan), Hitachi High-Tech Corporation (Japan), Attana AB (Sweden), Bruker (US), NanoTemper Technologies GmbH (Germany), Affinité Instruments (Canada), Biosensing Instrument (US), Unchained Labs (US), BioNavis Ltd. (Finland), Carterra, Inc. (US), Nicoya (Canada), BiOptix Analytical LLC (US), Plexera Bioscience (US), XanTec Bioanalytics GmbH (Germany), lino Biotech AG (Switzerland), and KEP Technologies (France).

Scope of the Label Free Detection Industry

This report categorizes the label free detection market to forecast revenue and analyze trends in each of the following submarkets:

By Product & Service

• Instruments
• Consumables
  • Biosensor Chips
  • Microplates
  • Reagents & Kits
• Software and Service

By Technology

• Surface Plasmon Resonance
• Bio-Layer Interferometry
• Isothermal Titration Calorimetry
• Differential Scanning Calorimetry
• Other Technologies

By Application

• Binding Kinetics
• Binding Thermodynamics
• HIT Confirmation
• Lead Generation
• Endogenous Receptor Detection
• Other Applications

By End User

• Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology Companies
• Academic & Research Institutes
• Contract Research Organization
• Other End Users

By Region

• North America
  • US
  • Canada
• Europe
  • Germany
  • UK
  • France
  • Italy
  • Spain
  • Rest of Europe (RoE)
• Asia Pacific (APAC)
  • China
  • Japan
  • India
  • Rest of Asia Pacific (RoAPAC)
• Latin America (LATAM)
• Middle East and Africa (MEA)

Recent Developments of Label Free Detection Industry

• In April 2022, Sartorius launched the new Octet SF3, the first SPR system under the Sartorius Octet brand. Octet SF3 is a next-generation SPR instrument that offers robust, high-throughput, low maintenance characterization of biomolecular interactions.
• In February 2021, Creoptix, a subsidiary of Malvern Panalytical, launched WaveRAPID, a new and faster way of measuring kinetics to accelerate drug discovery.

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