24 August 2016 - - The global IVD market is currently USD 60.5bn, according to medical market research supplier Kalorama Information's recently released report on in vitro diagnostic test markets.

IVD will grow, the study says, but in a complex pattern that involves challenges to growth in traditional categories and reliable large markets combined with opportunities in novel tests and growth nations.

Kalorama Information's report is released every two years and covers every segment of IVD testing with trend analysis, market forecasts and company profiles.

The report says that a variety of factors can be expected to continue driving growth in IVD sales.

In addition the report sites increased demand from an increasing middle class in Brazil, India and China that is supported by the availability of healthcare insurance programmes, international initiatives such as the Clinton Foundation and the Gates Foundation have begun to develop treatment programmes for infectious diseases.

These include TB, HIV, malaria, and sexually transmissible diseases creating a market for test devices to diagnose and monitor treatment efficacy of these diseases and other infectious diseases.

Several IVD companies have partnered with these organizations and have seen their revenues increase. In addition, the report says the IVD industry will be shaped by long-term trends such as biomarker discovery and the use of newer technologies such as next generation sequencing.

It is not all upside, according to the report, there are also challenges for the IVD market and the report states that while the development of IVD product choices has been a boon for medical care, it also puts a great deal of pressure on physicians to make the right choices and for payers to pay for new technologies that may still be unproven.

As an aging society begins to use more healthcare services, cost efficiency imperatives continue to put pressure on payers, providers and suppliers. As a result healthcare organizations have developed strict cost/performance and care guideline directives.

The report contains hundreds of profiles. Top-tier companies such as Roche Diagnostics, Abbott, Siemens, Beckman Coulter, bioMerieux, Qiagen and Ortho Clinical Diagnostics are discussed at great length and hundreds of smaller companies are detailed.

Kalorama Information's estimate describes the revenues earned by manufacturers of reagents, kits, instruments and other supplies for IVD tests.

The company said its estimate is the result of several months-long study of company financials, government and medical literature, trade publications.