Rising awareness of HIV and hepatitis boosts immunology testing in India and China

Friday 15 June 2012, 1:02PM Media release from GlobalDataLONDON, UK (GlobalData), 14 June 2012 - Rising demand for hepatitis and HIV testing is set to increase the value of the infectious immunology market, according to a new report by healthcare experts GlobalData.The new report* shows how an increased demand for convenient testing, and market penetration in emerging economies due to increasing awareness and affordability, is redefining the infectious immunology market.A number of novel technologies are emerging in infectious immunology, with molecular diagnostics providing faster and more accurate results, and being expected to provide significant competition to immunology-based tests in the future.Similarly, the introduction of Point of Care Tests (POCTs) and home-based testing will significantly impact patient care management by improving mobility and convenience, and enabling convenient testing by travelling medical staff in poor countries and remote areas.The US is the largest market for infectious immunology testing, accounting for nearly 36% of global revenue. This is due to the large testing volumes for diseases such as hepatitis, and high public awareness. The availability of reimbursement for infectious disease testing also plays a significant role, and changes in the reimbursement scenario for routine Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) testing are likely to further encourage the retroviral testing market in the US.In comparison to developed nations, the infectious immunology markets of emerging countries are small, but have witnessed the highest growth rates throughout the past decade. The infectious immunology market in India is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 22.5% during 2011-2018, reaching revenue of nearly $200m by 2018, while the market in China is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 21% over the same period to reach revenue close to a billion dollars. This growth will stem from increasing affordability due to economic growth, better awareness among the patient population, and improving market penetration in rural areas.The Chinese infectious immunology market will additionally benefit from recent increases in healthcare expenditure made by the Chinese government, who announced a large healthcare reform investment program in 2009, with funding of around $125 billion. The government also initiated a new rural co-operative medical system, aiming to build many new hospitals which can potentially practice infectious immunology.The global infectious immunology market is forecast to grow at Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 7.3% in the period 2011-2018.