Human Genetics Market

Market Overview

The first-ever human genome project was accomplished in 2003 and cost around USD 3 billion.

Understanding the complexity of genes aids in the development of better diagnostics and effective treatments of life-threatening diseases, including cancer, AIDs, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, sickle cell anemia, cystic fibrosis, and Down syndrome, which is further boosting the market growth.  Globally, the prevalence of genetic disorders is increasing at a concerning rate, which is further boosting the demand for gene therapy. To attend the situation, the R&D laboratories and forensic laboratories are performing extensive research using human genetics to develop better treatment options for a number of diseases.  The governments across the globe are also supporting the project and are heavily investing in the human genetics market to increase awareness regarding genetic disorders, its treatments, and its effects on life.

Market Dynamics

Human Genetics: The Next Phase of Personalized and Precise Medicine

The application of human genetics studies in personalized and precision medicines has given rise to a new landscape called pharmacogenomics. It involves the optimization of drug therapies for reducing adverse drug reactions. The rapid advancements in personalized medicines will enable it to predict diseases in advance, which will aid the medical professionals to attend to it sooner and treat the disease as per the unique genetic profile of the patient. Recently, Genentech Corporation developed a monoclonal antibody, named ‘Trastuzumab’ for the treatment of breast cancer using recombinant DNA technology.

Government to Play a Critical Role In Human Genetics Market

The governments around the world are actively supporting the developments in human genetics as the database that will contain extensive genetic and medical information about the country's citizens. Recently, CDC signed a cooperative agreement with three U.S. public health schools to train public health workers in the field of genetics and its applications in healthcare. Similarly, Bioscience in the U.K received government approval to genetically modify human embryos using the ‘three-parent’ IVF technique. The project is also receiving huge investments from the National health institute (NIH) for human genetic studies, which is further driving the market growth.

Opportunities

Currently, human genetics is used in very limited applications. However, it is expected to witness lucrative growth in the years to come. Computational biology will offer a huge space to store a vast amount of genetic information from different populations across the globe. In addition to this, market players are likely to witness significant growth in the revenue with the increasing number of applications of human genetics in molecular diagnostic testing. For instance, Myriad Genetics is expected to gain momentum after its successful development of BRACAnalysis and BART tests to detect genetic mutations in breast and ovarian cancers.

Apart from molecular testing, biometric identification in security checks would offer a lucrative growth opportunity for the market.

Gene Editing and CRISPR-Cas9 Tools to Dominate the Market

Gene editing technologies such as CRISPR-Cas9, zinc finger nucleases, and transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs) are projected to offer a lucrative growth opportunity for the pharmaceutical and biotech players engaged in the human gene editing. For instance, CRISPR / Cas9 is one such technology widely used for gene editing since it can perform multiple edits on a single piece of nuclear materials, namely DNA and RNA. Its simplest, most precise, and versatile working is projected to boost the overall adoption of the technology in the coming years.

In the last few years, the human genetics market has been witnessing significant for the treatment of genetic disorders and cancer. The market is majorly driven by the rising advancements in gene therapy, new genetic testing techniques, increasing research activities, rising demand for personalized and precise medicines, and increasing global spending on human genetics. Following are the important factors driving the market:

• Increasing Number of Patients with Genetic Diseases

Increasing prevalence of genetic disorders, improvements in genetic testing, and growing applications of genetic testing in oncology are boosting the market growth. As per the World Health Organization, some of the genetic disorder like sickle cell anemia affects around 72,000 newborns, especially in people whose ancestors are from Africa. For instance, sickle cell anemia is diagnosed in 1 in every 500 African-American births and 1 in every 1000 American births. Similarly, hemophilia, a genetic bleeding disorder, affects about 6,000 people in the U.K every year. Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is another such genetic disorder that affects the digestive, respiratory, and reproductive systems. However, the disorder is underdiagnosed in Asia but affects 1 in 1000 newborns in Europe.

• Increasing Investment

Successful completion of the Human Genome Project in 2003 by the U.S. Government created widespread Economic impact across the globe. Several major economies have been investing a large share of revenue in the field of human genetics. The U.K government has launched ‘Genomics England’ project and funded around USD 250 million in 2018. The project is aimed to enable the researchers to understand rare and undiagnosed genetic diseases.

• Raising Public Awareness

Increasing awareness and growing acceptance of human genetics are driving the market growth. The CDC is also actively working to increase awareness regarding genetics among the people. Similarly, the WHO launched the Genetic Awareness Program to educate people regarding genetic disorders and birth defects. It is also offering genetic consultation, chromosomal analysis, and cytogenetic tests for the same.

• Rising Demand for Personalized and Precise Medicine

In the last few years, personalizes medicine has been witnessing huge demand for the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of several diseases as it eliminates the possibility of allergies and adverse reactions associated with the drugs. Thereby, the advancements in genetic testing and increasing application of genetic testing in oncology are expected to boost the market growth to some extent.

Regional Analysis

The Asia Pacific to Lead the Market

North America is dominating the human genetics market and will continue the same during the forecast period. This can be attributed to the increasing investment by governmental organizations in genetic research, rising awareness regarding personalized medicine, technological advancement, and expanding the healthcare sector. The U.S. is the largest human genetics market on account of the increasing cases of genetic disorders, extensive research activities in human genetics, and the growing adoption of genetic-based treatment in the healthcare sector. The country has the presence of leading players in the market, including Illumina, Inc., Affymetrix Inc., Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc., Agilent Technologies, GE Healthcare, Cepheid Inc., and Danaher Corporation.

The European human genetics market is driven by the increased prevalence of multiple chronic genetic disorders and rising government funding for performing extensive research activities. In Germany, the market is majorly driven by technological advancement and the increasing R&D activities performed by the leading players to sustain in the raging competition.

The Asia Pacific is expected to witness the fastest growth during the forecast period on account of developing healthcare infrastructure and increasing demand for genetics for the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of various genetic disorders, including diabetes, cancer, downs syndrome, and sickle cell anemia. In the region, India and China are the major contributors to the human genetics market. Recently, the ‘Genome Asia 100 K’ (GA 100 K) was developed in the region and is aimed at sequencing around 100,000 Asian genomes to accelerate the advancements in precision medicine.

South America is expected to witness remarkable growth on account of the growing burden of chronic genetic diseases, increasing demand for personalized drugs, rising adoption of blood screening for the detection of mutations in RNA or DNA, and rising prevalence of hematological malignancies, including bone marrow cancer and blood cancer. Moreover, the emergence of new genetic diagnosis technology and increasing emphasis on developing new molecular genetic technologies, such as Real-Time PCR and Comparative Genetic Hybridization, is boosting the market growth in the region.

The Middle East and Africa are emerging in the human genetics market. This can be attributed to the rising demand for healthcare services and research activities. However, in Africa, poor economic development, low healthcare expenditure, lack of awareness, and low technological advancements in the healthcare sector are impeding the market growth to some extent.

Segmental Analysis

Molecular Genetics Segment to Generate High Revenue

The global human genetics market is segmented on the basis of type and end-users. By type, the market is segmented into cytogenetics, prenatal genetics, molecular genetics, and symptom genetics. The molecular genetic segment is grabbing the highest shares in the human genetics market. The cytogenetic segment is projected to witness considerable growth due to the increasing cases of genetic disorders across the globe. By the end-user, the human genetics market is categorized into the research center, hospital, forensic laboratories, and others. The research center segment is dominating the market. This can be attributed to increased funding and investment by governments and other renowned organizations.

Recent Developments

• Agilent has extended its portfolio of CRISPR RNA libraries for genome-based research
• Illumina along with the European Union is taking efforts to raise awareness regarding genetics in healthcare