Influenza Diagnostics Market

Market Overview

The global influenza diagnostics market was valued at USD 645.31 million in 2019 and is expected to grow at 7.7% CAGR during the forecast study period.

Influenza diagnostics is regarded as a highly transmitted respiratory infection caused by influenza A or influenza B viruses. Influenza spreads through respiratory secretions that contain the virus, from infected people to other people. Coughing and sneezing are the most common medium for the transmission of the disease. Influenza leads to a substantial burden of illness among newborns, children, and adults. There is still a shortage of biomarkers for tracking influenza infection at the point of care (POC) studies. Recent use of the rapid testing approach based on fluorescence has been introduced to provide the initial diagnosis with improved sensitivities. Influenza diagnosis based on clinical signs is complicated due to varying nonspecific causes. The diagnostic test results also offer potential benefits from accurate and rapid diagnosis of influenza infection.

Market Dynamics

Increasing Prevalence of Influenza

Influenza is a highly infectious respiratory ailment. The global influenza pandemics caused more than 5.00,000 deaths in the U.S. and nearly 50 million deaths globally. It poses a critical public health threat. More than 2,00,000 people have been hospitalized because of the influenza virus, according to the National Center of Health Survey 2016. According to the CDC, the U.S. flu affects about 5 % to 20 % of the population per year. Moreover, an estimated 200,000 people are hospitalized in the U.S. each year due to flu infection; of these, 36,000 die from complications of the flu. It affects mostly those with a weak immune system, i.e., the pediatric and geriatric population. There are around 3 to 5 million cases of serious influenza worldwide. According to the 2018 Survey of the National Influenza Centers (NICs), 69,007 people were infected with influenza viruses, of which 67,733 were infected with influenza A and 1,274 were diagnosed with influenza B.

Awareness Regarding Early Influenza Diagnosis to Drive the Market growth

Early influenza diagnosis leads to better treatment and further care. Early diagnosis allows medical professionals and patients to take care of and support various crucial medical decisions. There are several benefits of having correct and early diagnosis after the neurological signs linked to a particular medical disorder is found. Laboratory testing is one of the most effective and popular testing techniques for diagnosing various infectious diseases linked to bacterial, viral, or protozoal infections. Immunoassays, biochemical characterization, polymerase chain reaction, isothermal nucleic acid amplification test, and next-generation sequencing are performed to identify a comprehensive range of infectious diseases.

An important factor responsible for the growth of the global market for influenza diagnostics is the increasing awareness among the global population about the importance of early disease detection. Because of this, organizations are taking initiatives to promote the practice of early diagnosis to prevent and eradicate disease mortality. For example:

• Public Health England (PHE) launched a 5-year (2020 to 2025) infectious disease (including influenza) campaign in 2019 to deter, identify, adapt, and reduce the effects of infectious diseases.
• WHO developed the 2019-2030 Global Influenza Strategy with the goal of reducing the seasonal influenza burden, lowering the risk of zoonotic outbreaks, and decreasing the effects of the influenza pandemic. In addition, this strategy reinforced global surveillance, monitoring, and data utilization, expanding seasonal influenza prevention and control policies and programs to protect vulnerable people and encouraging research activities to improve diagnosis, vaccines, and treatment.

Thus, the raising concerns with regards to the early diagnosis of influenza are hastening the adoption of diagnostic products.

Regional Analysis

North America Dominates the Global Influenza Diagnostics Market

North America held the highest market share in the influenza diagnostics market, owing to a strong focus of the U.S. CDC on controlling the disease rates. The U.S led the market for influenza diagnostic testing in North America in 2019. The U.S. industry is expected to expect substantial growth over the forecast timeframe due to high influenza incidence combined with hospitalization. Owing to the large patient population, the United States holds a significant national market share. About 30.453 People were infected between 2017 and 2018, according to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention. The U.S. Centres for Disease Control (CDC) tracked 7 million flu cases in the U.S. in 2019, prompting tens of thousands of hospitalizations and concerns among high-risk populations. Increasing policy efforts in the region to monitor and avoid influenza would further spur development.

Asia-Pacific’s InclinatationTowards New Technology

Over the projected period, the Asia-Pacific market is expected to witness rapid development. The adoption of new technology and increasing awareness among the people are the factors elevating market growth. The human infection with avian influenza A (H5NI) that resulted in an influenza pandemic is one of the main influenza causes in Asia. There is widespread concern, and the countries are actively engaged in taking preventive measures to counter the disease incidence. For example, the U.S. CDC has entered into a cooperation arrangement with the South East Asian Region (SEAR) to fund non-researched bilateral influenza as a response mechanism to avian, seasonal, and pandemic influenza.

Segmental Analysis

RIDT Segment Accounts for the Largest Share

The RIDT segment holds the largest share in the test type based segment, as they are commonly used for influenza diagnosis. These tests make the presence of influenza type A and B in specimens to be qualitatively detected. RIDT is considered the standard gold test used for influenza diagnosis leading to fast results of less than 30 minutes. Thus, this test type is expected to dominate the influenza diagnostics market.

Also, cell culture is usually widely used when the prevalence rate of influenza is being tested. Cell culture provides accurate statistics along with the ability to distinguish exactly between influenza virus types. Such experiments are often performed in labs, and their findings may take days, usually from 3 to 10 days, depending on the circumstances. The diagnostic approach offers PPV or NPV, respectively known as the positive predictive value and the negative predictive value. Recently, influenza vaccines extracted from the cell culture are being developed to meet the need for better methods of influenza protection.

Based on end-user, the influenza diagnostics market is segmented into hospitals, POCT, diagnostic centers, and others.

Ease-of-Use feature of POCTs

POCTs are expected to be the fastest-growing segment due to factors such as ease-of-use and use by anyone and requiring little expertise, with the exception of basic operating knowledge. Since the introduction of technically improved POCT, reliance on such experiments by the public and physicists has grown dramatically.POCT is performed in settings other than the laboratory. It is sometimes referred to as bedside checking. Most CLIA-waived RIDTs are used in the point-of-care (POC) configurations. POCT is responsible for the increase in the use of diagnostic influenza test kits. New technical advancements in POC research kits with faster processing times and error-free results are projected to further fuel the demand in the future. Thus, the POCT segment is expected to be the segment with the fastest growth in the period of study.

Recent Developments

• In 2020, Sekisui Diagnostics revealed that it has attained the US FDA 510(k) approval and CLIA Waiver for its OSOM Ultra Plus Flu A&B Test, which uses traditional lateral flow solution to diagnose symptoms. Markedly, the test will boost the performance of the company’s flu portfolio while enabling it to provide enhanced and precise rapid influenza test kits.
• In 2018, Siemens Healthineers acquired Fast Track Diagnostics Ltd., a manufacturer of an extensive range of CE-marked infectious disease detection tests and syndromic panels. Through this acquisition, Siemens Healthineers expanded its molecular diagnostics portfolio for infectious diseases.