The ongoing ascent of the proteomics industry

In May 2014, two independent research groups, one in the US and India, the other in Germany, published the first drafts of the human proteome. Based on mass spectrometry data, these maps were the most comprehensive to date and signaled rapid progress in our understanding of the role of genes and their products, proteins. The draft human proteome signaled the coming of age of proteomics, a field that is rapidly transitioning from research and development application to more applied fields including diagnostics. Nearly ten years later, the market is shows no sign of slowing. By 2025, the global proteomics market should reach $55.1 billion up from $27.1 billion in 2022.

Now, around five million scientists are working on biological sample preparation globally. As developing economies funnel more investments into research and development, the market continues to grow. China is emerging as a global leader in sequencing and an increasing number of genomics projects run by Chinese agencies and other companies throughout the globe are creating genome libraries. This, coupled with an increased interest in personal genetics, is also bolstering the market. Big companies like Google are investing in genomics start-ups. 

Innovation and automation

Automation has changed many industries – and proteomics is no different. It’s helped improve throughput and the consistency of preparing samples for protein analysis, genetic sequencing and other methods of data collection. High-throughput genomic assays are lengthy, require thousands of dollars in reagents and are limited by tissue availability and quality. Due to these challenges, sample preparation can take days. Automation helps in overcoming these challenges.

Now, there’s a growing interest in lab automation for analytical laboratories due to the growth in innovation. It doesn’t just make processes more efficient, but also improves the quality and sustainability and provides safer working environments.

The emergence of personal genomics

Personal genomics can provide a detailed insight into an individual’s physiology. This information helps in pharmacogenomics by providing genetic information to confirm the existence of a genetic disease and to select the most appropriate drug to be prescribed to a patient. Many start-ups are trying to take advantage of this opportunity. A personal genome project was announced in 2005 with the goal of sequencing and analyzing the genomes of more than 100,000 people across the world.

Overcoming high costs

Investing in new sample preparation equipment and technologies doesn’t come cheap. This has had the biggest impact on emerging countries with only modest budgets for research and development. Investments in cost-intensive upgrades are often delayed or are entirely shelved due to concerns over return on investment. Sequencing costs have been reduced, but sample preparation still needs to come down in price. The high overheads is one of the major restraints in the growth of instrument use in sample preparation in genomics and proteomics.

Opportunities in diverse applications

Agriculture, livestock, ancestry, forensics, bioenergy and medicine are a few industries genomics has applications. In agriculture, genomics can be used to improve crops and livestock quality more cost effectively than any other technology. In 2013, Monsanto, a leading agricultural company, partnered with Synthetic Genomics to commercialize genomic-driven technologies to improve crop yields and prevent loss from disease.

There’s also a healthy market for personalized genomics. Applications for personalized genomics in medicine are vast, as they can indicate whether a treatment is healing or harmful. Knowledge regarding rare diseases associated with a single gene and more complex diseases associated with multiple genes is increasing at a rapid pace with the development of genomics. Genome-wide studies have led to learning the genetic basis of many diseases such as type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, autism and breast cancer.

Discover more about this important market

The study of protein structure and function is an integral part of the life sciences. Proteomics takes on a central role in understanding biological systems and human diseases, and will only increase in relevance. To gain a deeper understanding of the dynamics of this market, download your complimentary report overview here.

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