Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing Market Size, Share, and COVID-19 Impact Analysis, By Test Type (Antibacterial Testing, Antifungal Testing, and Others), By Method (E-TEST, Disks Diffusion, Rapid Automation Method, and Others), By Application (Diagnostics, Drug Discovery & Development, and Others), By End-Users (Hospitals & Clinics, Clinical Laboratories, Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology Companies, and Others), and Regional Forecast, 2024-2032

Antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) is a procedure performed to identify an appropriate antimicrobial regimen that is specifically effective for individual patients. The specimens used for culture and sensitivity tests are blood, urine, cerebrospinal fluid, sputum, wound, stool, and other body fluids and discharge. There are various types of infections such as skin infections, respiratory tract infections, sexually transmitted diseases, and urinary tract infections, which demand appropriate regimens for treatment.

• For instance, according to data published by WHO, in November 2022, pneumonia accounted for 14% of death of children under five years of age. Around 740,180 deaths of children occurred in 2019 were reported due to pneumonia, and the main cause of developing pneumonia are bacteria, viruses, and fungi.


• For instance, according to data published by WHO in April 2023, tuberculosis (T.B). is the 13^th leading cause of death worldwide. In 2021, estimated 10.6 million people were diagnosed with T.B. worldwide. A total of 6 million men, 3.4 million women, and 1.2 million children were affected by T.B.

The phenomenon known as antimicrobial resistance (AMR) occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites change or no longer respond to medicines making infections more difficult to treat and increasing the risk of death due to disease spread. AMR is a global health threat due to the increasing emergence and spread of drug-resistant pathogens that have acquired new resistance mechanisms, leading to antimicrobial resistance. It continues to threaten the human body's ability to treat common infections.

• For instance, according to data published by WHO in November 2021, AMR is one of the world's top 10 public health threats to humanity. Modern medicine's success in treating infection, including during major surgery and cancer chemotherapy, would have been at risk without effective antimicrobials.

The use of antimicrobial susceptibility testing is increasing due to an increase in certain conditions such as pneumonia, sepsis, meningitis, and T.B. The increasing resistance to antimicrobial treatment is the one of key drivers supporting the growth of the antimicrobial susceptibility testing market.

Impact of COVID-19 on the Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing Market

The antimicrobial susceptibility testing market witnessed a slightly positive impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 due to increased antimicrobial resistance to antibiotic therapy.

• For instance, as per the article published in September 2021 by Annals of Clinical Microbiology and Antimicrobials under the title "Antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of respiratory Gram-negative bacterial isolates from COVID-19 patients in Switzerland." The bacterial superinfections were developed in ventilated COVID-19 patients highly impacted by antimicrobial resistance. In some cases, continuous modification of antibiotic therapy was needed.

The demand for antimicrobial susceptibility testing increased due to increased antimicrobial resistance associated with COVID-19 cases, which resulted in the growth of the Antimicrobial susceptibility testing Market.

Key Insights

The following key insights will be covered in the report:

• Prevalence of Microbial Infections - by Key Countries/Regions, 2022.


• Pricing Analysis, Key Products / Key Players, 2022.


• Overview of Regulatory Scenario - by Key Countries/Regions.


• Key Industry Developments (Mergers, Acquisitions, Partnerships, etc.).


• Impact of COVID-19 on the Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing Market.

Analysis by Application

Based on application, the drug discovery & development segment accounted for a significant proportion of the Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing market in 2022. The growth is mainly attributed to the constant innovation and the development of new therapeutic products to treat highly prevalent infectious diseases.

• For instance, in March 2023, as per the article published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of King Saud University, most of the genotypic methods are being used for drug discovery, resistance monitoring, or research, and at present, non-phenotypic methods like nucleic acid or nanotechnology-based ASTs are mostly intended for the drug discovery or research.

Regional Analysis

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North America is anticipated to gain a significant market share in the antimicrobial susceptibility testing market during the forecast period. The key factors driving the market's growth are the rising prevalence of microbial infections, the availability of technologically advanced diagnostic tests, and a well-established regional healthcare infrastructure. The increasing incidence of multidrug-resistant organisms and growing demand for precision medicine are some other factors boosting market growth.

• For instance, according to the report published by CDC in 2022, each year, 2.8 million antimicrobial-resistant infections occur in the United States, and as a result, more than 35,000 people die.

 The increased incidence of multidrug-resistant organisms and growing demand for precision medicine are the primary factors boosting market growth.

Key Players Covered

The report will include key players' profiles, such as Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc., Bruker, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., and HiMedia Laboratories. 

Segmentation

Key Industry Developments

• February 2023: bioMérieux S.A. launched MAESTRIA new generation microbiology software. This software has a state-of-the-art graphical user interface that covers various workflow steps, including staining results or manual input of offline Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (AST). This software helped the company reinforce its position in infectious disease diagnostics with cutting-edge technology, not only for testing but also for the management of the generated data


• May 2022: Qualigen Therapeutics acquired a majority stake in the diagnostics technology company of NanoSynex. This acquisition is expected to help the company to leverage long-standing diagnostics development including Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (AST) platform, and regulatory and commercial expertise to expand its footprint as a diversified life sciences company.


• April 2022: COPAN Diagnostics (Murrieta, CA, USA) showcased its range of fully automated solutions for identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) in clinical microbiology at the 32nd European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID 2022).


• In October 2018, B.D. launched a molecular test for detecting tuberculosis and multidrug-resistant T.B. is an integrated diagnostic test used to detect and diagnose T.B. and INH- and RIF- resistance.


• September 2017: Bruker announced the acquisition of MERLIN Diagnostika GmbH to add selected antibiotic resistance and susceptibility testing to its MALDI Biotyper, a microbial identification platform. This acquisition further expands Bruker's microbiology business based on rapid, broad-based microbial identification.