Lateral Flow Assay Market Size (2024 - 2029)

Lateral Flow Assays Market Analysis

The Lateral Flow Assay Market size is estimated at USD 10.46 billion in 2024, and is expected to reach USD 13.77 billion by 2029, growing at a CAGR of 5.65% during the forecast period (2024-2029).

The COVID-19 pandemic had a positive impact on the market. Instead of sending patient samples to the laboratory, the usage of lateral flow test kits can be convenient as they are smaller, portable, and can be controlled with minimal training. This makes them attractive for deployment outside of healthcare facilities, in low- and middle-income countries, or for countries rolling out mass population screening programs. Even though they are less accurate than PCR tests, their low cost, speed, and ease of use make lateral flow tests particularly attractive to countries that do not have extensive laboratory facilities or trained health workers to easily conduct PCR tests for COVID-19 screening. Some countries, such as Slovakia and the United Kingdom, are extensively using lateral flow tests as a means of mass screening programs. For example, the British government has been monitoring the use of the Innova SARS-CoV-2 Antigen Rapid Qualitative Test in Liverpool, which currently has high COVID-19 rates, and it plans to roll it out nationwide.

The major factor driving the growth of the lateral flow assay market is the growing global rate of infectious diseases, HIV, and cancer around the world, which require new diagnostic methods of effective treatment to end the growing mortality rate. For instance, according to the November 2021 report of the World Health Organization (WHO) on HIV/AIDS, about 37.7 million people around the world were living with HIV in 2020, of which 25.4 million were residing in the WHO African region. As per the same report, in 2020, about 1.5 million people were diagnosed with HIV around the world. Thus, the high prevalence of HIV is expected to drive the demand for effective and precise diagnostics tests for the efficient and early diagnostics of HIV, which is anticipated to drive the market growth as they provide accurate diagnostics.

Further, technological advancements in the field of lateral flow assays (LFA) have also boosted the market growth. In recent years, major advances in LFA development have included novel signal enhancement techniques, the use of new labels, improved quantification systems, and simultaneous detection. Some new techniques have been used to enhance the signal from gold nanoparticles (colloidal nanoparticles). With the advancement in technology, GNPs have adopted silver enhancement technology or combinations of GNPs with an enzyme (such as horseradish peroxidase), which results in catalytic amplification of the signal. For instance, in June 2021, Novacyt launched two COVID-19 antigen lateral flow tests called PathFlow COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Pro and PathFlow COVID-19 Rapid Antigen.

Additionally, increased participation of the government to control the outbreaks of infectious diseases and the increasing awareness programs about the spread of infections, diagnosis, and prevention, along with the launch of diagnosis systems at home care settings, are expected to contribute to the growth of the global market during the forecast period. However, factors such as delays in product approvals due to stringent regulatory policies and false results from the test are expected to impede the growth of the studied market over the forecast period.

Lateral Flow Assays Industry Segmentation

As per the scope of the report, lateral flow assays, also referred to as lateral flow immunochromatographic assays, are cellulose-based devices used to detect the presence of a target analyte in the sample without the need for specialized and costly equipment and highly skilled healthcare professionals for their operation. They gained significant traction in home care settings, thereby fuelling the market.

The lateral flow assay market is segmented by application (clinical testing, drug abuse testing, and other applications), technique (sandwich assay, competitive assay, and multiplex assay), product (lateral flow readers and kits and reagents), end user (home care, hospitals and clinics, and other end users), and geography (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle-East and Africa, and South America). The market report also covers the estimated market sizes and trends for 17 different countries across major regions globally. The report offers the value (in USD million) for all the above segments.