Market Overview

The high-throughput screening market is expected to register a CAGR of 7.8%, during the forecast period. North America dominates the market, owing to large spending on pharmaceutical R&D and high adoption of high-throughput screening technology in drug discovery.

The high-throughput screening (HTS) centers in the public domain have increased significantly over the past decade, ranging in size, from modestly-equipped academic screening centers to well-endowed molecular libraries probe centers network (MLPCN). These centers facilitate a comprehensive approach to probe discovery in academia, and utilize, both, standard and innovative assay technologies for executing primary and secondary screening campaigns. One of the significant advantages of these centers was knowledge sharing among scientists, researchers, etc. In European countries, EU-open-screen, European counterpart of US NIH initiative, is also working to get open access to all European organizations involved in chemical biology. Additionally, the association of HTS centers is also emerging, which is aimed at sharing valuable information about the compound or target, or the whole process. The open access provides a better platform for knowledge sharing, and can help optimize the entire process, which may drive the demand for HTS technology among end users.

HTS systems allow tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of compounds to be evaluated in a single day. As the throughput increases, the amount of data for each experiment increases, and scientists analyze and derive results from large amounts of data. Due to the sheer number of samples being processed and the massive volume of data being produced, the need for extensive automation techniques arises, to streamline the operations. However, automation requires massive investments for the establishment of machinery and supporting architecture, which are roadblocks for small- and moderate-size research institutes. Thus, the high costs associated with automation techniques can limit the market expansion.

Scope of the Report

The high-throughput screening market has been segmented by technology, applications, products and services, end user, and geography. By technology, the market is divided into an ultra-high-throughput screening, cell-based assays, lab-on-a-chip, and label-free technology. By application, the market has been subdivided into target identification, primary screening, and toxicology. By products and services, the market has been segmented into instruments, reagents and kits, and services. By end user, the market has been segmented into pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms, academia and research institutes, and contract research organizations.

Key Market Trends

Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Firms Represent the Largest End Users of High-throughput Screening Modalities.

In order to gain sustainable competitive advantage, most of the large and small biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies are focusing on the development of novel molecules for the treatment of several chronic conditions. The need for rapid and precise screening of several target molecules, during drug discovery and development phases, has led to the adoption of automated high-throughput screening techniques to screen massive chemical and biomarker libraries generated during the research processes. Since an automated HTS system can test 10,000 to 100,000 target compounds per day, and uHTS can test more than 100,000 compounds per day, their adoption for drug discovery and development process has resulted in the market expansion.