Laboratory Proficiency Testing Market - Global Industry Size, Share, Trends, Opportunity, and Forecast, 2021-2031

The Global Laboratory Proficiency Testing Market is projected to expand from USD 1.18 Billion in 2025 to USD 1.76 Billion by 2031, registering a CAGR of 6.89%. This sector centers on pivotal external quality assessment processes that gauge participant laboratory performance through interlaboratory comparisons. The mechanism entails dispatching reference samples to facilities to validate the reliability and accuracy of their analytical outcomes against predetermined standards. Key growth drivers include strict regulatory requirements for ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation and an increasing focus on food and water safety protocols. Additionally, the demand for independent technical competence verification within diagnostic sectors sustains the market, ensuring laboratories uphold high-quality testing environments.

Despite this positive trajectory, the market encounters significant obstacles related to the high costs and logistical complexities of moving stable samples across international borders. These operational difficulties can restrict access for smaller laboratories in developing areas or those dealing with time-sensitive biological materials. As noted by the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation in 2024, over 810 proficiency testing providers were accredited by ILAC MRA signatories. While this figure highlights the extensive scale of the accredited provider landscape, the inability to ensure effective global distribution remains a major hurdle preventing broader market expansion.

Market Drivers

Stringent accreditation mandates and regulatory compliance act as primary engines for market growth, necessitating laboratory participation in proficiency testing schemes to prove technical competence. International standards organizations and regulatory bodies are increasingly enforcing ISO/IEC 17025 and ISO 15189 requirements, establishing external quality assessment as a mandatory operational standard for testing facilities. This pressure compels laboratories to continuously benchmark their performance against peers, thereby mitigating liability risks and analytical errors while preserving their certified status. The magnitude of this compliance-focused environment is reflected in the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation's 2024 Annual Report, published in May 2025, which indicated the body held "4,350 actively accredited certificates" by the end of 2024 across all 50 US states and various foreign economies.

The escalating incidence of waterborne and foodborne diseases further intensifies the need for proficiency testing services, as global supply chains undergo increased scrutiny regarding contamination hazards. With pathogen outbreaks becoming more widespread and severe, beverage and food manufacturers are deepening their reliance on accredited laboratories to confirm the quality and safety of consumables.

This spike in testing volume requires rigorous proficiency testing to validate detection methods for contaminants like Salmonella and Listeria. Underscoring this urgency, a March 2025 report by Food Safety Net Services titled 'Food Recalls in 2024: Revealing the Statistics' noted that "hospitalizations and deaths from contaminated food doubled in 2024" relative to the previous year. Furthermore, Eurofins Scientific reported full-year revenues of "€6,951 million" for 2024 in 2025, highlighting the substantial capital flowing into the testing and diagnostic infrastructure.

Market Challenges

The high costs and logistical intricacies involved in transporting stable samples across international borders present a formidable barrier to the Global Laboratory Proficiency Testing Market's growth. The success of proficiency testing hinges on the integrity of reference materials, which frequently demand rapid delivery systems and strict temperature controls to avoid degradation. If chemical or biological samples endure customs hold-ups, shipping delays, or cold chain interruptions, the reference materials can become unstable. This instability invalidates subsequent analytical results, inflicting substantial financial losses on providers and deterring laboratories in logistically challenging regions from enrolling in these critical quality assurance programs.

Consequently, this operational hurdle directly limits market reach by inhibiting providers from serving a significant portion of the potential client base, especially in developing economies lacking specialized courier infrastructure. The failure to ensure secure delivery effectively isolates these markets, capping revenue potential despite a global rise in laboratory accreditations. According to the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation, "over 114,600 laboratories were accredited by the ILAC MRA Signatories" in 2024. This statistic reveals a vast addressable market of accredited facilities needing continuous proficiency testing; however, logistical challenges in accessing widespread locations hinder the market from fully exploiting this demand, thereby stalling overall industry expansion.

Market Trends

The shift toward Digital Reporting Platforms and Cloud-Based systems is fundamentally transforming the Global Laboratory Proficiency Testing Market by supplanting manual data entry with automated, secure systems that improve operational speed and data integrity. Laboratories are increasingly merging proficiency testing workflows with Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) to enable real-time performance monitoring and minimize transcription errors, which is crucial as testing volumes escalate. This move toward digital assurance creates significant revenue opportunities for providers delivering validated, secure data environments. For instance, SGS reported in its February 2025 '2024 Full Year Results Press Release' that the company realized "over CHF 30 million" in incremental sales from digital trust services, emphasizing the rising commercial worth of secure digital platforms within the quality assessment sector.

Simultaneously, the increasing adoption of Biologics and Biosimilars Testing Programs represents another pivotal trend, driven by the pharmaceutical industry's transition from small-molecule drugs to complex large-molecule therapeutics. These advanced therapies demand highly specialized proficiency testing protocols to verify specific parameters like mycoplasma detection, endotoxin levels, and sterility, which differ significantly from conventional chemical analyses. As a result, service providers are broadening their quality control and manufacturing portfolios to cater to this high-value segment. Charles River Laboratories highlighted this demand in its February 2025 'Fourth-Quarter and Full-Year 2024 Results,' reporting that its Manufacturing Solutions segment generated annual revenue of "$769.3 million", underscoring the strong market need for rigorous safety testing and quality control in the biopharmaceutical supply chain.

Key Players Profiled in the Laboratory Proficiency Testing Market

• Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc.
• Fera Science Limited
• LGC Limited
• Merck KGaA
• NSI Lab Solutions Inc.
• QACS Ltd.
• Trilogy Analytical Laboratory Inc.
• Waters Corporation
• Absolute Standards, Inc.

Report Scope

In this report, the Global Laboratory Proficiency Testing Market has been segmented into the following categories:

Laboratory Proficiency Testing Market, by Industry Type:

• Clinical Diagnostics
• Microbiology
• Pharmaceuticals
• Biologics
• Others

Laboratory Proficiency Testing Market, by Technology:

• Polymerase Chain Reaction
• Immunoassays
• Chromatography
• Spectrometry
• Other Technologies

Laboratory Proficiency Testing Market, by Region:

• North America
• Europe
• Asia-Pacific
• South America
• Middle East & Africa

Competitive Landscape

Company Profiles: Detailed analysis of the major companies present in the Global Laboratory Proficiency Testing Market.

Available Customization

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• Detailed analysis and profiling of additional market players (up to five).

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