Polymerase chain reaction market to increase at a CAGR of 13%

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) market is set to continue bucking the economic trend by growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13% through 2015, with global markets expected to exceed $27 billion.

To put this into some kind of perspective, this is almost three times greater than the global markets for microarray, flow cytometry and mass spectrometry put together.

PCR is a biochemical technology in molecular biology to amplify a single or a few copies of a piece of DNA across several orders of magnitude, generating thousands to millions of copies of a particular DNA sequence.

As a technique, PCR offers considerable practical benefits over many proteomics methods, and advances in computing and software continue to accelerate the development of new applications and the volumes of biological information PCR methods can generate.

Applications for PCR are almost limitless and include sequencing, genetic fingerprinting, cloning, disease research, diagnostics, drug discovery, biomarkers, forensics, viral infections and many more. Such is the enormous power of this technique that some observers have made reference to two epochs in the life science field - "Before PCR" and "After PCR".

From the early methods of the 1980s, PCR has taken off and today more than 50 techniques are in use. These are dominated by qPCR, RT-PCR, Hot Start, Multiplex and Taqman techniques. Going forward, these will see continued growth, as will other methods such as Long PCR, Nested PCR, Allele and Methylation-Specific PCR (MSP).

PCR is undoubtedly one of the most (if not the most) dynamic technology areas in the life science field today. But while its capabilities appear almost limitless, there are many important challenges to overcome, not least in making it accessible to all.

For more information on the polymerase chain reaction market, see the latest research: Polymerase Chain Reaction Market

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