Live Cell Imaging Market Size & Share Analysis - Trends, Drivers, Competitive Landscape, and Forecasts (2024 - 2030)

Live Cell Imaging Market Size

Live Cell Imaging Market Trends & Drivers

Growing Need to Visualize Interactions between Cell Populations Drives Market

Pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies have adopted several advanced methodologies to overcome the challenges in saving time and money during drug safety and toxicity screening, one of which is HCS via cell-based assays. The method is faster and more accurate and offers a higher success rate than traditional methods. This kind of imaging allows for the clear monitoring of the cell mechanisms involved in drug activity, such as cell death rate, mitochondrial dysfunction, and DNA damage.

The images captured in any way, whether as a timelapse or pictures, contain a lot of information for study. Appropriate fluorescent tracers, antibodies, and other consumables are used to distinguish the visual appearance of different components in cell clusters, which helps in studying the dynamics and kinetics of the cell.

Moreover, the integration of information technology platforms into high-content cell imaging modalities results in more-precise and faster toxicity testing. Additionally, the usage of imaging technology to capture live cells with HCS is beneficial for time-based kinetics studies, general sample analysis in cancer research, cell growth analysis, virology studies, and many other applications.

Surging Incidence of Chronic Diseases Drives Live Cell Imaging Technology Demand

Globally, the rising prevalence of chronic diseases is one of the major healthcare burdens, which affects high-income as well as low- and middle-income countries. The incidence of major chronic diseases, such as coronary artery disease, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, arthritis, hepatitis, and cancer, has increased significantly with the changing lifestyles.

According to the WHO, approximately 41 million people die each year due to chronic diseases, accounting for 71% of the deaths worldwide. Among these, 9.3 million deaths in 2021 were caused by cancer alone. The WHO further states that around 70% of the deaths from cancer occur in low- and middle-income countries, thereby increasing the demand for cancer pain management drugs in these nations. As a result, the fast pace of drug discovery and development plays a vital role in the industry advance, as most biopharma companies are focused on coming up with first-in-class products for the treatment of such diseases. Here, live cell imaging has a major application in the analysis of the toxicity and effectiveness of the drug.

Moreover, the inadequate health insurance coverage for chronic diseases, such as cancer, COPD, and stroke, in many countries has created a financial burden on patients and made it difficult for them to avail of the costly treatments. This has increased the demand for cost-effective drugs and APIs amongst healthcare systems and patients in many developed and developing countries. Therefore, the rise in drug research and development activities due to the increase in the incidence of chronic diseases drives the market growth.

Live Cell Imaging Market Analysis

Growing Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology R&D Sector Propels Global Market

The burgeoning biopharma industry has brought about an unprecedented demand for live cell imaging. Large biopharma companies are performing R&D for better biologics, where the imaging of the cells plays a vital role in the study of the therapeutic action of the drug on cellular activity.

According to a government agency, the pharmaceutical industry invested USD 46,144.0 million in 2020 in Europe for researching, developing, and bringing new medicines to patients. The increase in the demand for pharmaceutical drugs and biologics promotes the application of such imaging solutions for R&D. This will support the development and testing of novel therapies, product portfolio expansions, and clinical testing for safety and marketing. Hence, the increasing investment in product research and development will propel the growth of the market.

Moreover, the demand for clinical research services is increasing due to the adoption of the outsourcing strategy by pharmaceutical organizations to mitigate the accompanying risks in drug development with CDMOs’ low development costs and high expertise. Moreover, the increasing number of collaborations with small and clinical-stage pharma enterprises, which account for a significant portion of the pharmaceutical drug pipeline, enhances the demand for such imaging instruments.

Consumables Category Is Expected To Grow Fastest during Forecast Period

The consumables category is expected to grow with a CAGR of 10.6% during the forecast period. The growth is due to the rising research and development in the biotechnology sector, which creates a massive requirement for reagents, kits, and other consumables for long-term and fast live cell imaging and analysis. Such consumables and reagents support in fetching meaningful information, as they preserve cell health long enough for scientists to extract whatever insights they need. Additionally, advanced reagents help generate rich information from a single cell, using fluorescent reagent combinations in cell cultures. Therefore, since consumables need to be purchased repeatedly, the category will continue to grow.

Regional Analysis

North America Is Highest Revenue Generator in Global Market

North America dominated the global market, with a share of 50%, in 2023. The dominance of the region can be attributed to the increasing prevalence of acute and chronic diseases and the surging R&D expenditure of pharma and biotech companies.

Chronic diseases, such as cancer, heart disease, and diabetes, were the leading causes of death in the U.S., and they cost more than USD 4.1 trillion in 2021 to healthcare systems. Additionally, around 45% of the U.S.’s population has at least one chronic ailment, and by 2025, around 165 million Americans will be suffering from more than one. The heavy financial burden associated with the treatment of such conditions has created an urge among patients as well as healthcare systems to seek alternatives to the high-cost branded drugs. With the rising demand for cheaper yet effective drugs, pharma companies are investing in the region and research organizations are working aggressively to satisfy this demand, which would support the adoption of live cell imaging and other advanced technologies.

Additionally, the favorable government regulations for and investments in research are driving this growth in the region. For instance, the Canadian government announced an investment of CAD 1,500 million in March 2023, for over three years, to support access to and affordability of effective drugs for rare diseases. Additionally, more than CAD 30 million have been poured by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research to drive advancements in rare disease research and expand opportunities for clinical trials in the country.

Moreover, the market players in the region are launching advanced systems and software for imaging living cells. For instance, in January 2023, Axion BioSystems launched OmniPro 12 with integrated robotics and a multiplate design, which is usable with any standard incubator.

Market Breakdown

This fully customizable report gives a detailed analysis of the live cell imaging market, based on all the relevant segments and geographies.

Based on Offering

• Instruments
• Consumables
• Software
• Services

Based on Application

• Cell Biology
• Stem Cells
• Developmental Biology
• Drug Discovery

Based on Technology

• Time-Lapse Microscopy
• Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET)
• Fluorescence Recovery after Photobleaching (FRAP)
• High-Content Screening (HCS)

Based on End User

• Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology Companies
• Academic & Research Institutes
• Contract Research Organizations

Geographical Analysis

• North America
  • U.S.
  • Canada
• Europe
  • Germany
  • U.K.
  • France
  • Italy
  • Spain
• Asia-Pacific
  • Japan
  • China
  • India
  • South Korea
  • Australia
• Latin America
  • Brazil
  • Mexico
• Middle East and Africa
  • Saudi Arabia
  • South Africa
  • U.A.E.

Top Live Cell Imaging Companies