Allergy Diagnostics 

Allergy Diagnostics involves the blood and skin tests in order to find if an allergen is triggering an allergic response. The allergy tests are performed (in vitro and in vivo tests) to determine the cause, stage, prognosis, and treatment course for allergic diseases. Allergy diagnostics Services are used in diagnostic laboratories, hospitals, academic institutes, and allergists in order to diagnose an allergy.

Top 10 Allergy Diagnostics Services 2020:

1. SIEMENS AG
2. HITACHI CHEMICAL COMPANY LTD
3. DANAHER CORPORATION
4. THERMO FISHER SCIENTIFIC INC
5. BIOMERIEUX SA
6. HOB BIOTECH GROUP CO LTD
7. R-BIOPHARM
8. DR FOOKE - ACHTERRATH LABORATORIEN GMBH
9. HYCOR BIOMEDICAL INC
10. OMEGA DIAGNOSTICS GROUP

Market Overview

The Allergy Diagnostics Market is expected to exceed more than US$ 6 Billion by 2024 at a CAGR of 11% in the given forecast period. Allergy diagnosis is an important introductory step for effective allergy treatment. Current allergy tests are more convenient and accurate compared to the tests that were available before. With the help of a detailed medical history, allergy tests can identify specific triggers for an individual’s allergic reactions. This process is also required in drug development and the production process of allergy treatments.

The major factors driving the growth of this market are the high incidence and large economic burden of allergic diseases, rising environmental pollution, increasing healthcare expenditure, and growing access to medical insurance in the US. On the other hand, lack of awareness of allergic diseases in some countries is restraining the growth of this market.

The allergy diagnostics market is classified based on product & service into assay kits, instruments, and services. The assay kits segment is expected to grow at the highest rate during the forecast period. The widespread availability and large consumption of assay kits in allergy testing are expected to drive the growth of this segment in the coming years. The allergy diagnosis market is segmented based on end-users into diagnostic laboratories, hospital-based laboratories, academic & research institutes, and other end users.

Geographically, this market is dominated by North America, followed by Europe, Asia, and the Rest of the World (RoW). The Asian region is estimated to grow at the fastest rate which can be attributed to the improving life sciences research infrastructure in emerging economies and rising investments by governments to promote research activities.

25 companies offering top Allergy Diagnostics services were analyzed, shortlisted and categorized on a quadrant under Visionary Leaders, Innovators, Dynamic Differentiators, and Emerging Companies.

Vendor evaluations are based on two broad categories: product offering and business strategy. Each category carries various criteria, based on which vendors have been evaluated. The evaluation criteria considered under product offerings include the breadth of offering, delivery (based on industries that the vendors cater to, deployment models, and subscriptions), features/functionality, delivery, product quality and reliability, and product differentiation. The evaluation criteria considered under business strategy include geographic footprint (on the basis of geographic presence), channel strategy and fit, vision alignment, and effectiveness of growth (on the basis of innovations, partnerships, collaborations, and acquisitions).

Visionary leaders are the leading market players in terms of new developments such as product launches, innovative technologies, and the adoption of growth strategies. These players have a broad product offering that caters to most of the regions globally. Visionary leaders primarily focus on acquiring the leading market position through their strong financial capabilities and their well-established brand equity. This category includes top allergy diagnostics service provider such as Siemens AG, Hitachi Chemical Company Ltd, Danaher Corp, Thermo Fischer Scientific Inc, and Biomerieux SA.

Dynamic Differentiators are established players with very strong business strategies. However, they have a weaker product portfolio compared to the visionary leaders. They generally focus only on a specific type of technology related to the product. This category includes providers such as Stallergenes Geer, Lincoln Diagnostics Inc, Omega Diagnostics Group and Dr.Fooke GmbH.

Innovators in the competitive leadership mapping are vendors that have demonstrated substantial product innovations as compared to their competitors. The companies have focused on product portfolios. However, they do not have very strong growth strategies for their overall business, when compared with the visionary leaders. This category includes providers such as ALK - Abello AS, R-Biopharm, HAL Allergy Group and Astra Biotech GmbH.

Emerging companies have niche product and service offerings. Their business strategies are not as strong as that of the established vendors. The emerging vendors in allergy diagnostics services include the new entrants in the market, emerging in terms of product portfolio and geographic reach, and require time to gain significant traction in the market. This Category inludes allergy diagnostics providers such as Euroimmun AG, GA Generic Assays, Tecan Group Ltd, Theradiag, etc.

Why to use Allergy Diagnostics?

Most of the people are affected by allergies either by inhaled allergens, ingested allergens or contact allergens. Allergy diagnostics involve exposing to a very small amount of a particular allergen and recording the reaction. Seasonal allergies and hay fever, which is an allergic response to pollen are most common and are caused due to inhaled allergens.

The World Allergy Organization estimates that asthma is responsible for most of the deaths happening worldwide due to allergies. These can be avoided by doing proper allergy diagnostics.

Allergy diagnosis can determine which particular pollens, molds, or other substances are responsible for the allergies. The person can be provided with specific medication and allergies can be avoided by avoiding the allergy triggers.

Who uses Allergy Diagnostics Services?

Allergy Diagnostics is used by several laboratories and hospitals as their in-house products. Some of the users of allergy diagnostics are:

Academic Research Institutes: Research institutes use allergy diagnostics services to carry out research on upcoming diseases and allergies. This research then can be converted to tests and can be tested on an animal or a human being. Allergy Diagnostics help research institutes to come up with a new drug composition to fight with the allergies.

Diagnostic Laboratories: Laboratories use allergy diagnostics equipments such as Assay Kits, Immunoassay & Elisa Analyzers, Luminometers to detect what kind of allergy a person is having. This can help the person to avoid such allergy triggers.

Hospital: Hospitals use assay kits and luminometers to detect the allergies and provide the right medication to the patient. Generally all the hospitals have these allergy diagnostics services.

Types of Allergens

Allergens are substances or molecules that can cause an allergic reaction in a persons body. There are three primary types of allergens:

Inhaled allergens affect the body when they come in contact with the lungs or membranes of the nostrils or throat. Pollen is the most common inhaled allergen.

Ingested allergens are present in certain foods, such as peanuts, soy, and seafood.

Contact allergens must come in contact with skin to produce a reaction. An example of a reaction from a contact allergen is the rash and itching caused by poison.

Allergy Diagnostics Products

The allergy diagnostics market is classified based on product & service into assay kits, instruments, and services.

Assay Kits: Assay kits are used in life science research, drug discovery & development, and environmental monitoring in a broad range of applications such as studying disease pathways, screening for potential drug candidates and evaluating biopharmaceutical production processes.

Immunoassay & Elisa Analyzers: Immunoassay analyzers are used to identify and detect the concentration of specific substances in a sample, usually using an antibody as a reagent. These devices are used in hospitals and clinical laboratories and can perform a variety of tests including those targeting cancer, allergies, therapeutic drug monitoring and more.

Luminometers: Luminometers are mostly used in laboratories for easy interpretation of molecular questions especially in the case of water it can quickly analyze the samples. Luminometers are used to measure the chemical marker adenosine triphosphate (ATP). When it comes to water, researcher can figure out the size of the molecular components present in a sample based on how much light is produced when ATP reacts with the naturally-occurring enzyme luciferase.

Allergy Diagnostics Tests

Allergy Diagnostics can be carried out with two different types of tests. These are:

In Vivo Tests: The term In Vivo refers to a medical test, experiment or procedure that is done on a living organism, such as a laboratory animal or human. In vivo studies are needed to evaluate drugs is with respect to drug absorption in the body. In vivo studies are first done in non-human animals such as mice. These studies allow researchers an opportunity to see how a drug works amid other bodily processes.

In Vitro Tests: The term In Vitro refers to a medical study or experiment which is done in the laboratory within the boundaries of a test tube or laboratory dish. This allows researchers to learn as much as possible about a drug before exposing humans to these potential effects. In Vitro studies are important as they allow many drugs to be studied at one time and drugs which have effect on cells can go for human trials.

How an Allergy Diagnostics is performed?

Allergy diagnostics involve either a skin test or a blood test. Sometimes the person has to go on an elimination diet if a food allergy is detected.

Skin tests: Skin tests are used to identify numerous potential allergens. This includes airborne, food-related, and contact allergens. The three types of skin tests are scratch, intradermal, and patch tests. During scratch test, an allergen is placed in liquid, then that liquid is placed on a section of skin with a special tool that lightly punctures the allergen into the skin’s surface. If the scratch test is inconclusive, an intradermal skin test is performed. This test requires injecting a tiny amount of allergen into the dermis layer of skin. Patch test involves using adhesive patches loaded with suspected allergens and placing these patches on the skin.

Blood tests: Blood test is performed if the allergic reaction is severe and cannot be detected with skin test. The blood is tested in a laboratory for the presence of antibodies that fight specific allergens. This test, called ImmunoCAP, is very successful in detecting IgE antibodies to major allergens.

Elimination diet: An elimination diet may help practitioner to determine which foods are causing an allergic reaction. It entails removing certain foods from the diet and later adding them back in.

Market Dynamics

Drivers

• Rising prevalence of allergic diseases, is driving the growth of the allergy diagnostics market
• Growing expenditure in healthcare sector, is helping the allergy diagnostics market to grow
• Increasing pollution level globally, is flourishing the market growth
• Surging allowance for allergy diagnostics instruments drives the market towards growth

Restraints

• Costly instruments of allergy diagnostics, hinders the market growth
• Lack of knowledge regarding allergic diseases, is hampering the market growth

Challenges

• Rising level of competition from the companies all over the globe
• Introduction of molecular components has made allergy diagnostics complex procedure

Opportunities

• Increasing funding for allergy diagnostics devices from the government as well as private companies

Trends in Allergy Diagnostics Market

• The consumables segment accounts for the largest market share of 50%
• The inhaled allergen type accounts for the largest market share of 55%
• The increasing cases of allergic asthma, due to exposure to some harmless substances, such as plant pollen, mold, or animal hair, skin or saliva, will fuel the growth of the inhaled allergen type segment.
• The in vitro test is forecasted to witness a higher growth rate due to its simplicity, repeatability, and accuracy of allergy detection.
• Advancements in in-vitro methods of testing such as miniaturized & automated methods will propel the demand of in vitro tests
• The growth of immunotherapy is contributed by the increasing cases of cancer and the rise in cancer research activities. It is a type of cancer treatment that helps the immune system fight cancer.
• The hospital segment is forecasted to witness the highest growth rate due to the expanding healthcare industry and government expenditure on the research and treatment of deadly diseases.
• Funding in research and development, especially in the US is another factor driving the growth of the allergy diagnostics market in the region.

Recent Developments in Allergy Diagnostics Market

In October 2018, iGenetic Diagnostics had launched TruTest Laboratories for offering the fast and accurate testing solutions. The labs are equipped with molecular diagnostics, next generation sequencing and cytogenetics. The launch had empowered various people for choosing specific tests for their diagnosis. The launch had made the company a leader in the market.

In July 2018, Thermo Fisher Scientific had launched Phadia 200. It is a CE-mark product and enables the automation for laboratory testing for the treatment of allergic conditions. It can perform up to 700 different ImmunoCAP and EliA tests to diagnose the allergy. It has reduced the manual handling time. The launch had met the demand of the laboratories and positioned as an innovator in the market.

In 2017, Thermo Fischer Scientific Inc. a leader in Allergy Diagnostics market acquired Alfa Aesar to expand its laboratory chemical portfolio.

 In 2017, Siemens Healthineers expanded its manufacturing and R&D facility for laboratory diagnostics in Walpole, USA in allergy diagnostics market