2DE market to grow by 22.5% by 2015
Technical limitations of two-dimensional electrophoresis (2DE) will need to be effectively tackled
The technical limitations of two-dimensional electrophoresis (2DE) will need to be effectively tackled if its perceived advantages are to make an impact and the technology is to grow, says Frost & Sullivan in its latest report.
2DE is said to be the most cost-effective protein profiling technology and the only technology in which the constituents of a protein sample can be entirely visualised in a single gel.
The 2DE market earned revenues of about US$130m in 2008 and Frost & Sullivan estimates this will rise to nearly US$159.2m by 2015 in its report, European 2 Dimensional Gel Electrophoresis Market.
The report covers two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry.
"The global recession is bound to affect government research spending, which is like oxygen to academic researchers," says Frost & Sullivan's research analyst Rasika Ramachandran. "The current economic situation is therefore a blessing in disguise for the 2DE industry as researchers will be on the prowl for cheaper technologies in a cash-crunched climate."
The European 2DE market is projected to grow at a higher rate in the near term, as academic researchers - the main consumers of these products - are likely to invest more in cheaper alternatives for protein expression studies, such as 2DE.
"Sample preparation is a major challenge that the industry needs to overcome," adds Ramachandran. "It affects both the reproducibility and the resolution of the 2DE experiment which, in turn, influences the end results."
It is therefore advisable for market participants to focus on determining the kinds of samples that are the most widely studied in the market. Following this, a feasibility analysis to check the financial viability of developing a sample preparation kit for such samples should be conducted, with technical support costs factored in.
"Industry participants need to address the sample preparation market in a more consolidated manner, whereby every sample preparation kit developed by each company should effectively address a unique niche," says Ramachandran. "This strategy will ensure that participants do not cannibalise each other's customer base."