Viral Transport Medium Market - Global Outlook & Forecast 2022-2027

The global viral transport medium market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 3.51% during 2022-2027

Viral transport mediums are the medical kits, swabs, and tubes used to collect, preserve, and transport viral specimens for research and diagnostic tests, which exist in several formulations, consisting of a buffered salt solution, a complex source of protein and amino acids, and anti-microbial agents. It preserves virus and is either used for amplification by nucleic acid amplification testing (NAAT) technology or viral culture. It allows research collection, preservation, and transportation of viral specimens, including conventional cell culture methods, molecular biology techniques, and diagnostic tests. The importance of viral transport medium was known globally when a new H1N1 influenza virus was identified, causing the world's first flu pandemic in more than 40 years. Since then, it has been used majorly by hospitals, labs, and academic/research institutes for transporting viral samples across the research and clinical value chain. During the transport, the virus, if present, in the sample specimen should remain intact until the testing is completed.

More recently, the sudden onset of the COVID-19 pandemic significantly changed the demand for transport medium products and related kits. With the fast spread of the COVID-19 virus, many countries prioritized diagnostic testing for quick diagnosis of the virus. This fuelled the exponential increase in demand for VTM kits for sample collection from suspected COVID-19 patients. Owing to the surge in demand for diagnostic tests and sample collection from people, many vendors increased their production.
They continuously tried to deliver many viral transport media kits to meet the exponential demand for COVID-19 diagnostic tests. In March 2020, increased demand for covid-19 testing led to a global shortage of nasopharyngeal swabs and viral transport medium (VTM) test kits that significantly impacted large-scale testing efforts.

TRENDS ANALYSIS IN THE MARKET

Suddenly increased SARS-COV-2 infection rate drive substantial demand for VTM kits. It resulted in increased manufacturing and manufacturing capacity of the vendors. Most of the leading and emerging companies took part in fulfilling VTM supply across the healthcare system in the world. In 2020, Thermo Fisher Scientific, one of the leading suppliers of viral transport kits, invested around $40 million in Lenexa and Kansas manufacturing facilities to scale up the production of the kits.

The pandemic increased the manufacturing of VTM kits globally and gave emerging market players new opportunities. Several new entries and new products were launched in the same period. Most of the global market players looked for a maximum supply of these kits; on the other side, newcomers entered with new products.

• In June 2020, India bases IIT Guwahati developed a new VTM product. The product name is SPLID VTM Kit is a unique and world-class affordable solution which are the first-stop source helped in the collection of oral and nasal swabs specimen.
• In 2021, the leading manufacturing company of viral transport media, Vircell, launched a new VTM kit solution. This product is validated for collecting and preserving viruses such as SARS-COV-2 & influenza A virus.
• The UK-based company EKF diagnostic launched a new molecular transport media product for influenza and Covid-19 virus collection. It is one of the unique products that novel transport molecular media used for the dual purpose such as covid-19 and influenza sampling and enabled safe sample handling and testing with one sample swab.

VIRAL TRANSPORT MEDIUM MARKET SCENARIO

Viral transport medium kits are constantly in demand due to the increasing prevalence of infectious diseases. Viral infections are one of the major burdens seen in the pandemic period. The rising prevalence of viral infectious diseases enabled the growth of viral transport media kits. Some of the viral infectious diseases are Covid-19, influenza virus, enterovirus D68, herpes, varicella, RSV, etc. In diagnosing the diseases mentioned above, collection of samples, preservation, and transportation is required, whereas VTM kits are the most prominently used solutions by the practitioners. According to the Plos One article 2021, based on studies documented from 2007 to 2020, the overall prevalence of respiratory syncytial virus was around 11%, and adenovirus accounted for 13%. Influenza viral infection accounted high burden worldwide, which required diagnosis and test.

Non-polio enterovirus causes around 10-15 million infection cases annually & on the other side, 10,000 hospitalizations each year in the US. On the other side, herpes is one of the severe viral infectious conditions that demand laboratory testing for diagnosis and cure. It is categorized into the herpes simplex virus type 1 and herpes simplex virus type 2. It is a sexually transmitted infection that is present lifelong. Around 3.7 billion people under 50 suffer from HSV-1 and 491 million from HSV-2 under the age of 15-49-year-old.

The rising covid-19 test across the world accounted high consumption rate of VTM test kits. More than millions of tests were done daily from June 2020 to Jan 2022, which significantly changed the market and delivered a major turning point for market.

On the other side, increasing the diagnosis rate for viral infectious diseases constantly drives the market growth. The increasing diagnosis rate of viral diseases requires laboratory testing of clinical specimens to identify the virus, viral antigens, and antibodies. Last form two decades major revolution was addressed in the virus diagnostic laboratories. Also, the rapid increase in the aging population, rise in the number of people undergoing various voluntary surgeries, and other factors have accelerated the requirement for various diagnostic tests that involve VTM kits. With the rising prevalence of various acute and chronic diseases worldwide, the number of surgeries performed to treat such diseases is also increasing rapidly.

A surge in Mass Testing for COVID-19 & Influenza

The demand for viral transport has increased exponentially during the COVID-19 pandemic. With academic/research institutes intensifying their experiments for developing vaccines and mass testing to stop the spread of COVID-19 globally, vendors have increased their manufacturing capacities and produced billions of VTM kits. Companies focus on innovation and developing kits containing double-ended flocked swabs, vials, antibiotics, and other items that inhibit microbial contamination. In addition, with the continuous increase of seasonal flu cases, manufacturers are also manufacturing viral transport for influenza tests, owing to influenza-related morbidity and mortality in many countries.

MARKET SEGMENTATION:

Product Insights

The global viral transport medium market is segmented into viral transport media, universal transport media, & molecular transport media. In 2021, viral transport media accounted for a revenue share of 46% in the global viral transport medium market and dominated other segments. The universal transport media segment accounted for 34%, and the molecular transport media segment accounted for 20% market share in 2021.

Usage Insights

The global viral transport kit market is segmented into diagnosis and pre-clinical testing. The rising diagnosis rate of covid-19 cases drives significant market growth by diagnosing severe SARS-COV-2 infection. In 2021, the diagnosis segment accounted for a revenue share of 67.44% in the global viral transport media market and showed dominance over the pre-clinical testing segment.

Indication Insights

Global Viral Transport Medium Market by indication is segmented into influenza & covid-19, herpes simplex virus, varicella-zoster virus, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and other adenoviruses, rhinoviruses, enteroviruses, parainfluenza viruses, metapneumoviruses, etc. Influenza is one of the common viral infections globally. In the global Viral Transport Medium Market, the influenza& covid-19 indication segment accounted for 73.09% market share in 2021. The higher infection rate of Covid-19 across the world dominated the market with a higher market share.

End-user Insights

Global Viral Transport Medium Market by end-user segmented into the labs, hospitals & clinics, and another end-user segment. In 2021, the lab's segment accounted for a revenue share of 40.30% in the global viral transport media market and dominated to other two segments. An increasing number of microbiology labs, research labs, biotech labs, and pharmaceutical and biotech company/ organizational labs drive viral transport kits' adoption and contribute to the market growth with dominance over other segments.

Segmentation by Products

• Viral Transport Media
• Universal Transport Media
• Molecular Transport Media

Segmentation by Usage

• Diagnosis
• Pre-Clinical Testing

Segmentation by Indication

• Influenza & Covid
• Herpes Simplex Virus
• Respiratory Syncytial Virus
• Varicella Zoster Virus
• Others

Segmentation by End-User

• Diagnostic Labs
• Hospitals & Clinics
• Others

GEOGRAPHY INSIGHTS

The market is segmented into North America, Europe, APAC, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa region. In North America, a high number of laboratory tests were registered during the pandemic, fueling the market growth. On the other side, the presence of biopharma companies, a high number of labs, well-developed healthcare services, and research studies on viral infection drives significant market growth in the region and accounted 33.18% higher market share. Apart from the Covid-19 pandemic burden, other viral infections such as influenza, herpes, varicella, respiratory syncytial virus, and other viral infectious diseases demand the diagnosis where VTM kits play a vital role in the collection, preservation, and transportation of specimens. The rising prevalence of viral infection across the world delivers high demand for VTM kits. Influenza viral infections continue to increase in African, North America, and Asia Pacific regions.

Segmentation by Geography

• North America
• US
• Canada
• Europe
• UK
• France
• Italy
• Germany
• Spain
• APAC
• China
• Japan
• India
• Latin America
• Brazil
• Mexico
• Argentina
• Middle East & Africa
• Turkey
• Saudi Arabia
• South Africa

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

The global viral transport medium market is highly competitive in nature due to the presence of domestic, regional, and international market players. Also, the geographical presence of key market players and their broad distribution channels increases market competitiveness through their major supply, import, and export strategies. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic significantly increased demand for VTM kits, driving high export and import of VTM kits from different countries through major market players. Vendors are increasing efforts to manufacture VTM products as per regulatory bodies' requirements. For instance, Hardy Diagnostics, an FDA-licensed manufacturer of medical devices for microbiological testing, launched the Universal Transport Medium, which is suitable for collection, maintenance, and long-term freeze storage of clinical specimens. Apart from hospital and retail pharmacies, vendors also offer huge volumes of orders from online pharmacies. Hence, they collaborate with e-commerce companies to increase their sales and revenue options.

Key Vendors

• BD (Beckton Dickinson)
• Hardy Diagnostics
• HiMedia Laboratories
• Laboratory Corporation of America
• Puritan Medical Products
• Thermo Fisher Scientific
• Vircell

Other Prominent Vendors

• AB Medical
• AccuGene USA
• Apical Scientific
• Azooka Labs
• Biomed Diagnostics
• bioBoaVista
• Biogenex Laboratories
• Biologix Group
• Biocomma
• Charm Sciences
• Creative Life Sciences Co. Ltd
• Citotest Labware Manufacturing
• CPT Medical
• Copan Diagnostic Inc.
• Diasorin Molecular
• EKF Diagnostic
• Ensol Biosciences
• Gemini Bioproducts
• General Biologics
• Gentueri
• Genesis Lifetech Marketing
• Han Chang Medic
• Hebei Chaoran Medical Instruments
• KSL Diagnostics
• Lucence Health
• LaunchWorks
• Liofilchem
• Medical Wire & Equipment
• Miraclean Technology (Mantacc)
• MetaDesign Solutions
• Manila HealthTek
• MatTek
• Nodford International
• Starplex Scientific
• Sansure Biotech
• Titan Biotech
• Vegas Biotech
• Zybio

KEY QUESTIONS ANSWERED

1. HOW BIG IS THE GLOBAL VIRAL TRANSPORT MEDIUM MARKET?
2. WHO ARE THE MAJOR PLAYERS IN THE GLOBAL VIRAL TRANSPORT MEDIUM MARKET?
3. WHAT ARE THE GROWTH FACTORS IN THE GLOBAL VIRAL TRANSPORT MEDIUM MARKET?
4. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE LATEST TRENDS THAT WILL SHAPE THE FUTURE OF THE GLOBAL VTM MARKET?
5. WHICH REGION IS EXPECTED TO OBSERVE THE LARGEST SHARE IN THE VIRAL TRANSPORT MEDIUM MARKET?