Modular Laboratory Automation Market

With an increase in market competition, laboratory automation has become an indispensable tool for laboratories to keep up with rising work pressure. However, high costs associated with complete laboratory automation and space constraints can act as major limitations for a lot of small and medium scale laboratories in adopting these systems. Therefore, automation vendors are developing alternate hardware configurations known as 'modular automation’ that can fit these smaller laboratories. Modular automation comprises integrated analyzers, consolidated analyzers, modular workcells, and pre- and post-analytical automation. These modular automated systems are complimented with the latest modern software.

The life sciences sector comprises the pharmaceutical, biotech, and health care segments. Revenues in the sector are increasing globally. This has been partly attributed to growth in emerging markets and the positive demographics in those markets and the leading edge of life sciences companies resulting in blockbuster innovations. These innovations are facilitated by meticulous and vigorous R&D efforts by global players and academia in all the aforementioned segments. R&D requires high throughput analysis technology and work stations. Hence, it is driving demand for laboratory automation, including modular laboratory automation. Increase in income levels in emerging markets such as India and China is leading to a rise in health care spending. This has led to an opening up of research avenues in the bio-pharmaceutical sector and an increase in spending on research. Such intense focus on R&D for drug and biosimilars discovery and innovation is likely to augment the modular laboratory automation market in the near future. Modular laboratory automation is helping clinical and pre-clinical studies by developing, optimizing, and streamlining the laboratory workflow. Major pharmaceutical companies are increasingly realizing the value of R&D and are investing in it to maintain a competitive edge. This focus on R&D is likely to propel the modular laboratory automation market during the forecast period. Moreover, the trend of system miniaturization is anticipated to drive the global modular laboratory automation market.

The global modular laboratory automation market can be segmented based on product, application, end-user, and region. In terms of product, the market can be divided into equipment, software, and services. The equipment segment can be further categorized into automated plate handlers, robotic arms, automated liquid handlers, automated storage & retrieval systems (ASRS), and analyzers. Based on application, the global modular laboratory automation market can be classified into clinical diagnostics, genomics, drug discovery and development, proteomics, and others. In terms of end-user, the market can be categorized into hospitals, diagnostic laboratories, pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry, academic and research organizations, and others. 

Based on region, the global modular laboratory automation market can be segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. North America and Europe are projected to be dominant regions of the modular laboratory automation market due to significant adoption of advanced technologies across all end-user segments. Additionally, investments in cutting-edge genomics, proteomics, and epigenetics research; rise in emphasis on remedies for environmental concerns, and concentration of some of the world’s major pharmaceutical and biotechnology organizations and academic institutes in the region are estimated to drive the market. Changing demographics in emerging economies such as China, India, Brazil, and South Africa are expected to present prominent growth opportunities to the modular laboratory automation market. The biopharma industry in Asia Pacific is expected to expand at a significant growth rate during the forecast period as major economies in the region are exploring and enhancing research and development capabilities in several fields in the bioscience domain. The pharmaceutical industry in Asia Pacific is expanding rapidly. This provides prominent platforms for investment for major players to drive sales of modular laboratory automation systems.

Key players in the global modular laboratory automation market include BD and Company, Beckman Coulter, Inc. (Danaher Corporation), Synchron Lab Automation, Siemens Healthineers, Agilent Technologies, and Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc..