Microfluidics Market to Grow at Strong CAGR with High Demand for POC Devices

Microfluidics is the science that combines formulating, manufacturing and designing the processes that deal with fluid volumes. These materials deal with the behavior of fluids and assists in gaining precise control and manipulation over them. Microfluidics is commonly used in the development of DNA chips, inkjet printheads, micro-thermal technologies, and micro-propulsion and lab-on-a-chip technology. Global Microfluidics market is poised to make healthy growth, thanks to rising demand and increasing applications of the products. Economic growth and rapid progress of the developed as well as developing countries are also strong drivers for the global microfluidic materials market.

Scope of Global Microfluidics Industry

Microfluidics technology evolved from micro-electro mechanical systems or MEMS devices, with an ability to replicate all their functions in different healthcare applications. Some of the major applications include point of care (PoC), drug delivery and clinical diagnostics. These products are majorly deployed across three industries, namely, drug delivery diagnosis, pharmaceuticals and in-vitro diagnostics. Rising demand for point of care devices, miniaturization of microfluidic chips and fast returns on investments are claimed to be the strongest drivers for the microfluidics market. According to the experts, the number of applications for patents of microfluidics technology has grown from approximately 3000 per year to 4000 per year. This increasing filing for patents shows the rise in demand and rate of adoption in microfluidic materials market.

Segmentation

Global industry for microfluidic materials is segmented on the basis of industries, materials, applications and geography. Geographically the industry is segmented into Europe, Asia, North America and rest of the world. The rest of the world region includes sub-segments like Latin America, Middle East, Africa and Pacific countries. Following are the details of the segmentation in the industry:

  • Materials: Polymer-based, silicon-based, glass-based and other materials-based microfluidics
  • Applications: Industrial, environmental, pharmaceutical, drug delivery, analytical devices, clinical, veterinary and point of care diagnostics
  • Industries: Pharmaceuticals including lab analytics, microfluidic chips, accurate dispersing devices, in-vitro diagnostics, microreactors for drug synthesis and drug delivery devices

Future Prospects

According to the industry experts, growth in demand for PoC devices, technological advancements and rapid globalizations are some of the major factors influencing the overall growth of microfluidics industry. Market research reports estimate that global microfluidic materials market is poised to witness strong growth in terms of compound annual growth rate. During the forecasting period of 2013 to 2018, the industry is expected to grow at a CAGR of 17.6%. In 2013, the industry was worth $1.59 billion in 2013. By the end of 2018, the market is expected to become worth $3.5 billion. North America is currently dominating the global market, which is followed by Europe. However, Asia is expected to record strong growth during the forecasting period, which will also be evident in other developing regions from emerging markets.