Sterile Filtration Market Size & Share Analysis - Trends, Drivers, Competitive Landscape, and Forecasts (2024 - 2030)

Sterile Filtration Market Size

Sterile Filtration Market Trends & Drivers

Increasing Incidence of Chronic Diseases Boosts Market Revenue

The market is expected to get a boost during the forecast period from the increasing chronic disease burden and rising count of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. The most-prevalent chronic diseases include cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and diabetes. According to a government source, in the U.S., approximately 37.5 million people were diagnosed with diabetes in 2022. Therefore, the increasing R&D activities due to the rising burden of diabetes are expected to augment the market growth potential.

Essentially, the rising prevalence of diseases leads to a surge in the demand for medicine, which further leads to an increase in drug development activities. Hence, the increasing efforts of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to produce effective and safe products drive the market.

Sterile Filtration Market Analysis

Cartridge Filter Category Is Leading Product Segment

On the basis of product, cartridge filter is the leading category, because this product offers more efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Additionally, it is more suitable for applications where dust needs to be completely removed or recovered. A cartridge filter consists of a piece of tube filtration equipment, which can be used in all sorts of industrial applications to meet various requirements. It can be used in dairy processing, water treatment, wine clarification, brewing, and pharmaceutical production. Apart from, that it can be used in reverse osmosis.

Bioprocess Category Dominates Market

On the basis of application, the bioprocess category is expected to dominate the market in the forecast period. In bioprocesses, filters are generally used to remove unwanted particles, such as cell debris, from samples and kill viruses or other microorganisms in the same culture. In the bioprocessing industry, filtration is an important procedure as it ensures that the medicinal product is microbiologically safe for patients. It is considered crucial in the pharmaceutical industry to remove bacteria and reduce bioburden, in order to manufacture high-quality products.

Pharmaceutical & Biopharmaceutical Companies Held Largest Share

On the basis of end user, pharmaceutical & biopharmaceutical companies hold the largest share in the market, driven by the growth in their R&D activities. In 2022, pharmaceutical companies spent approximately USD 140 billion on R&D as a result of the rise in the demand for drugs. Moreover, high spending enhances the ability of these companies to use innovative technologies. Thus, in view of the fact that biopharmaceutical companies use these assemblies in their manufacturing processes, their strong R&D focus is expected to drive the market growth.

Essentially, the increase in the incidence of chronic diseases, such as cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases, drives the market. These diseases demand early diagnosis and treatment, which eventually leads to an increase in the demand for drugs and other pharmaceutical and biotechnology products.

Furthermore, food & beverage companies are expected to witness the fastest growth over forecast years, with the rising number of innovative products launched by the key players, including sterilization filters and syringe filters. Contamination poses a serious problem in the food & beverage sector, as it can result in pathogen outbreaks and cause serious health issues, such as infection by salmonella, listeria, E. coli, and hepatitis A. To address this problem, membrane filtration is used. Effective detection and elimination of microbial contaminants in the food can be achieved through the use of UF membranes with smaller pore sizes.

Moreover, in the food & beverage industry, sterile filtration is one of the most-important methods for brewers to control contamination by microorganisms. Although beer is alcoholic, acidic, anaerobic, and has hops, which play a preservative role, certain bacteria may survive in the chemical environment and thrive on its rich nutrient content. This can spoil the product, thus driving the need to filter the brew.

Regional Analysis

North America Projected To Generate Highest Revenue

North America held the largest share, of over 50%, in 2023. The dominance of the continent on the sterile filtration market is due to the increasing R&D activities of pharma and biotech companies for drug development, rising healthcare expenditure, and rapid technological advancements. All this is itself driven by the constant surge in the incidence of chronic diseases.

Furthermore, new product launches are expected to fuel the market growth. For instance, in November 2021, Sartorius launched a new product, named Sartolab RF|BT 150 - 1000 vacuum filtration units, designed to provide faster filtration with a greater physical stability and higher capacity for a wide range of sample types.

In addition, in 2022, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. invested USD 1.480 million in research and development, compared to USD 1.408 million in 2021. This is expected to lead to a wider adoption of new filtration technology, which will improve accuracy, speed up the process, and reduce fouling parameters.

Asia-Pacific will witness the fastest growth during the forecast years, as it is considered an emerging hub for pharmaceutical companies. Additionally, the rising population of India and China has led to an increase in the usage of such technologies to purify drinking water. Moreover, India’s food & beverage sector is considered one of the fastest-growing in the world, which hints at bright prospects for companies providing sterile filtration products.

Market Breakdown

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

Based on Product

• Membranes
• Cartridge Filters
• Capsule Filters
• Syringe Filters
• Bottle-Top & Table-Top Filtration Systems
• Accessories

Based on Membrane Type

• Polyvinylidene Fluoride (PVDF)
• Polyethersulfone (PES)
• Nylon
• Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) 
• Mixed Cellulose Ester
• Cellulose Acetate

Based on Membrane Pore Size

• 0.2–0.22 µm
• 0.45 µm
• 0.1 µm

Based on Application

• Bio-Process
• Pre-Filtration
• Fill–Finish Process
• Utilities Filtration
• Virus Filtration

Based on End User

• Pharmaceutical & Biopharmaceutical Companies
• Food & Beverage Companies
• CMOs & CROs
• Academic & Research Laboratories

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 Sterile Filtration Companies

Sterile Filtration Market News

Strategic Mergers, Acquisitions, and Product Launches by Market Players

Empowered by the addition of new products to their portfolios and an increasing number of mergers and acquisitions, market players continue to grow.

In January 2023, Sartorius extended a strategic partnership agreement with RoosterBio Inc. in order to address the challenges in the purification and development of downstream manufacturing processes for exosome-based therapies.

In November 2020, Sterlitech launch a new product, named Sepa CFX cross-flow filtration cell, to enhance performance and filter quality assurance in many applications, such as food processing, pharmaceuticals, and wastewater treatment.