Asia-Pacific Genetic Testing Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2021 - 2026)

Market Overview

The Asia Pacific Genetic Testing Market is expected to register a CAGR of nearly 11.0% during the forecast period of 2021-2026. The COVID-19 pandemic is expected to have a significant impact on market growth. Biopharmaceutical innovators are at the forefront of the human response to the coronavirus pandemic. A significant number of major biotech firms are in a race to investigate the Sars-Cov-2 genome and prepare a viable vaccine for the same. As compared to the speed of response to SARS/MERs, etc., the biotech entities are investigating SARs-Cov-2 at an unprecedented rate, and a considerable amount of funds are being put into the R&D. For instance, in May 2021, Sanofi, a French-based pharmaceutical giant and Britain's GSK reported the start of phase 3 of a clinical study for COVID vaccine across the world, with sites in the Asia-Pacific region too. The vaccine will be based on recombinant DNA technology. 

A study titled, 'Genetic testing and serological screening for SARS-CoV-2 infection in a COVID-19 outbreak in a nursing facility in Japan', was published in March 2021 in BMC Infectious Diseases. The study found that thorough PCR testing, in combination with comprehensive and separate genetic tests, is critical for managing COVID-19 outbreaks in nursing facilities. Serological testing is also beneficial for tracing contacts, confirming the number of infected individuals, and authorizing the termination of the outbreak. Thus, these developments are expected to boost market growth.

Certain factors that are driving the market growth include a growing demand for personalized medicine and the increased application of genetic testing in oncology. The diagnostic and pharmaceuticals sector in the Asia-Pacific region has gained momentum, owing to speedy adoption and rising technological advancements. This has resulted in the adoption of personalized medicine across the region. 

Use of genetic tests for breast cancer diagnosis is gaining momentum. Women with certain BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene variations ((both of which are inherited) have up to an 85 percent lifetime chance of developing breast cancer, compared to a 13 percent chance among the general female population. Women with harmful BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations also have up to a 39 and 17 percent chance, respectively, of developing ovarian cancer, compared with a 1.3 percent chance among the general female population. Thus, BRCA1 and BRCA2 genetic tests can guide preventive measures, such as prophylactic surgery, chemoprevention, and more frequent mammography. Increase in prevalence of breast cancer across Asian countries is a cause of concern. According to Globacan 2020, the number of new breast cancer cases diagnosed in China alone was 416,371. Thus, the demand for genetic tests is increased due to a greater emphasis in medicine from reaction to diagnosis of the disease.

Scope of the Report

A genetic test is a test performed to identify the presence of a particular gene or set of genes, with a particular sequence of the genome. The genes can be identified either directly through sequencing or indirectly through various methods. Genetic testing practices are rapidly increasing in rare disease diagnostics and for personalized medicines, which is driving the growth of this market.

The Asia Pacific Genetic Testing Market is Segmented by Type (Carrier Testing, Diagnostic Testing, Newborn Screening, Predictive and Presymptomatic Testing, Prenatal Testing, Other Types), Disease (Alzheimer's Disease, Cancer, Cystic Fibrosis, Sickle Cell Anemia, Thalassemia, Rare Diseases, Other Diseases), Technology (Cytogenetic Testing, Biochemical Testing, Molecular Testing), and Geography (China, Japan, India, Australia, South Korea and Rest of Asia-Pacific). The report offers the value (in USD million) for the above segments.

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Key Market Trends

The Prenatal Testing Segment is Expected to Hold a Significant Share

Prenatal testing is used to detect the changes in a fetus's genes or chromosomes before birth. Prenatal testing is conducted during pregnancy because if there is a risk that the baby may have a genetic disorder, it can be detected early on. There is a slight increase in the number of newborns being diagnosed with genetic defects, and this is causing expectant mothers to opt for prenatal testing early on, in order to diagnose and cure any such defect. As China has a large population with a large number of new births each year, Non-Invasive Prenatal Test (NIPT) has been implemented in China since 2010. Strict registration is required to ensure the quality of NIPT, additional certification can help a manufacturer of a NIPT test to compile clinical data and to improve innovation, and academic societies can provide committee opinions that are suited to the current situation in China. These efforts are thus found to improve the regulations governing NIPT research in China. With these improvements, NIPT may offer promise, in terms of the early detection of rare diseases in the coming future.

The increasing prevalence of genetic abnormalities, the rise of DISC (Double Income, Single Child) families, the rapid growth of the In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF) techniques, and increasing awareness regarding non-invasive prenatal screening among young Indian couples, are also the main driving parameters of the non-invasive prenatal testing market in India. However, high costs in a developing country like India prevents the large-scale adoption of prenatal testing. Hence, being a novel segment to enter the Indian sector, NIPT currently faces a few major challenges that limit its growth to a few regions of India. In the coming years, Japan is likely to have more medical institutions, and soon it is expected to be allowed to conduct blood-based prenatal screenings instead of amniotic fluid tests to detect the chromosomal abnormalities. NIPT is also used to detect abnormal number of chromosomes in the fetus using massive parallel sequencing of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) from maternal blood, and is gaining rapid acceptance in obstetrics as it is used to detect maternal cancer. Increase in the number of cancer cases is expected to boost market growth.

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