The $40 billion analytical and life science instrumentation industry is a dynamic business focused on the critical needs of society by providing important support to the development of disease fighting drugs and advanced materials, as well as safeguarding the environment and national security. Over the last fifty years, the industry has grown to include hundreds of firms developing and marketing a plethora of instrument techniques and assays based on a myriad of both old and new technologies.
Many members of ALSSA also participate in the emerging molecular diagnostics market and many molecular diagnostics companies tie to the technologies of ALSSA's life science members. Estimated to be $4 billion in size and with annual growth of 10-15 percent, the molecular diagnostics segment includes tests that use DNA, RNA and proteins to test for specific states of disease. These tests also are used to proactively plan and monitor therapies.
It is also important to recognize that the industry is not only based on instrument platforms, but also reagents, consumables and services that support instrument operation, as well as preparations and assays in kit form that provide test results without the need for additional hardware.
It goes without saying that the industry addresses a global market because the requirements for analysis is a worldwide phenomena, and industry participants can be found in many regions of the world. Having said this, it is also important to note that the major industrialized countries in North American, Europe and Japan represent over 80% of the current global market. However, growth is now focused on the developing regions, especially China and the Asia-Pacific region.
“Illumina has been a member of ALSSA since shortly after the company was founded in 1998. As we have grown in a market where technologies are rapidly evolving, we have found the ALSSA meetings and the many opportunities for dialogue with other companies and senior executives to be an invaluable benefit of the association.”