Lab Automation Market Size, Share & Trends

Updated on : September 24, 2024

Overview of the Lab Automation Market

Lab Automation market forecasted to transform from $5.1 billion in 2022 to $7.1 billion by 2028, driven by a CAGR of 5.8%. The research study consists of an industry trend analysis, pricing analysis, patent analysis, conference and webinar materials, key stakeholders, and buying behaviour in the market.

The updated version of the report covers the historical market for lab automation for the year 2020, the base-year market for 2021, the estimated market for 2023, and the forecast until 2028, along with the CAGR from 2022 to 2028. In this report, lab automation is considered, along with tables and accessories, for healthcare applications in hospitals. In this version of the report, two new segments—applications—are added for a better and deeper understanding of the market. The growth of the market is attributed to increased R&D investments in the pharmaceutical industry, the growing demand for lab automation for food safety, and stringent regulatory requirements in the healthcare industry.

Global Lab Automation Market Trends

e- Estimated; p- Projected

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Lab Automation Market Dynamics

Driver: Technological advancements and increasing R&D investments

The pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries are under immense pressure to comply with strict regulatory guidelines for preclinical and clinical testing. Companies must meet regulatory guidelines before launching new drugs on the market. Documentation and audit trails—from R&D and testing to production and quality control—are among the regulatory requirements for the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. In addition, regulations and guidelines regarding appropriate labelling and advertising must also be kept in mind. The time-consuming and intensive nature of ensuring compliance at every stage of the process makes a strong argument in favour of automation, which can both achieve regulatory compliance and ensure that processes are streamlined.

In June 2020, the UK's Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency planned for new regulations to come into force in 2023. Products that already have conformity markings, either UKCA or CE, will be able to remain on the market after the regulations come into force.

Restraint: Slow adoption of automation by the diagnostic and other laboratories

Budget constraints can be a restraint for small and medium-sized laboratories. They may also find it beneficial to use lab automation in their laboratory. Similarly, if they start to operate the automation in their laboratory, the high maintenance and service costs associated with laboratory informatics solutions also cause restraint for them.

Budget constraints, low risk-taking capabilities, and a lack of evidence on the cost-effectiveness of automation solutions for small and medium-sized laboratories are restraining the growth of the market.

Opportunity: Improvisation of healthcare infrastructure across emerging countries

Growing R&D activities, such as increased public and non-public investments, can be attributed to improved healthcare infrastructure in emerging markets. There are expected growth opportunities in emerging markets for lab automation product manufacturers during the forecast period. For example:

• In China, the number of hospitals is expected to rise to 36,000 by 2020, up from 21,000 in the previous ten years. As of 2020, in China, the region with the highest number of hospitals was Shandong Province, with 2,451 hospitals. Sichuan province has 2,219 hospitals.

Challenge: Availability of refurbished lab automation equipment

The availability of refurbished lab automation is considered a major challenge for the growth of this market. DRE Medical, Inc. (US), Future Health Concepts (US), and Soma Technology, Inc. (US) are some companies offering refurbished lab automation solutions in the market.

Currently, a number of end users are opting for refurbished systems as a result of the declining healthcare expenditure in major healthcare markets across the globe. In developing countries, which are considered price-sensitive markets, end users prefer cost-effective systems. Considering these factors, the demand for refurbished lab automation is expected to increase in the coming years, as these systems offer the same functionalities as new equipment but at lower costs. This, in turn, is expected to hamper the revenue of companies offering branded lab automation solutions in the market.

Lab automation Market Ecosystem:

Source: Knowledge Store

By product type, the automated workstation segment accounted for the largest share in the lab automation industry during the forecast period.

Based on product, the lab automation market is segmented into automated workstations, off-the-shelf automated workcells, robotic systems, automated storage and retrieval systems, and others. The automated workstation segment accounts for the largest share of the global market. Workstations reduce costs, ensure efficiency, and improve turnaround times. These are key factors driving the market's growth.

By application type, the diagnostics segment is expected to witness significant growth in the lab automation industry during the forecast period.

Based on application, the lab automation market is segmented into Based on application, lab automation is segmented into drug discovery, diagnostics, genomics solutions, proteomics solutions, microbiology, and other applications. The diagnostics segment is expected to witness significant growth during the forecast period. Cancer therapies such as radiation therapy or proton therapy/precision therapy specifically treat the part of the body containing tumors. Increasing demographics, urbanisation, penetration, and affordability are driving its growth and are expected to drive market growth for this application segment.

By end user, the hospital and diagnostic laboratories segment grew at the fastest rate in the lab automation industry during the forecast period.

Based on end users, the lab automation market is segmented into hospital and diagnostic laboratories, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, research and academic institutes, forensic laboratories, environmental and testing laboratories, and the food and beverage industry. Automation allows hospitals and diagnostic laboratories to transport and track patient samples and produce accurate results in the shortest amount of time. This facilitates preventive care through the rapid identification of diseases, enhances productivity, improves patient safety, and helps reduce healthcare costs. Moreover, automation software allows hospitals to track patient data and maintain a patient registry system to recall data rapidly and easily, whenever required.

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North America is expected to be the largest region in the lab automation industry during the forecast period.

North America, comprising the US and Canada, held the largest share of the global lab automation market. The healthcare industry in North America is a well-established market for automation due to the demand for speed, consistency, and precision. Biotechnology & pharmaceutical companies have also adopted laboratory automation to reduce the manual labor involved and save time. Growth in the North American market is also supported by the demand for the integration of laboratory systems, rising government funding for research, growth in biobanks, the need for early drug discovery, and stringent regulatory requirements.

Prominent players in the lab automation market are Thermo Fisher Scientific (US), Tecan Group (Switzerland), Danaher Corporation (US), Agilent Technologies (US), F. Hoffmann-La Roche (Switzerland), PerkinElmer (US), Eppendorf (Germany), Becton, Dickinson and Company (US), Waters Corporation (US), Siemens Healthineers (Germany), Abbott Laboratories (US), bioMérieux (France), Endress+Hauser Group (Switzerland), Hamilton Company (US), and Hudson Robotics (US) among others.

Scope of the Lab Automation Industry

This report has segmented the global lab automation market to forecast revenue and analyze trends in each of the following submarkets:

By Product

• Automated workstation
  • Automated Liquid Handling System
• Automated integrated workstations
• Pipetting systems
• Reagent dispensers
• Microplate washer
  • Microplate Readers
• Multimode microplate readers
• Filter based
• Monochromator based
• Hybrid
• Single mode microplate readers
• Fluorescence
• Absorbance
• Luminescence
  • Automated ELISA systems
  • Automated nucleic acid purification system
• Off the shelf automated workcells
  • Pre analytical automation
  • Post analytical automation
  • Total lab automation
• Software
  • LIMS
  • ELN
  • LES
  • SDMS
• Robotic System
  • Robotic Arm
  • Track Robots
• Automated storage retrieval systems
• Other lab automation equipment

By Application

• Drug Discovery
  • ADME screening
  • High throughput screening
  • Compound management
  • Compound weighing and dissolution
  • Other drug discovery application
• Diagnostics
  • Pre-analytics/sample preparation
  • Sample distribution, splitting and archiving
  • EIA
• Genomic Solutions
• Proteomics Solutions
• Microbiology
• Other applications (includes cell biology and biobanking)

By End User

• Biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies
• Hospital and diagnostic laboratories
• Research and academic institutes
• Forensic laboratories
• Environmental and testing laboratories
• Food and beverage industry

By Region

• North America
  • US
  • Canada
• Europe
  • Germany
  • France
  • UK
  • Italy
  • Spain
  • Rest of Europe
• Asia Pacific
  • Japan
  • China
  • India
  • Australia
  • South Korea
  • Rest of Asia Pacific
• Latin America
  • Brazil
  • Mexico
  • Rest of Latin America
• Middle East & Africa

Recent Developments of Lab Automation Industry

• In January 2023, Agilent Technologies, acquired Avida Biomed, an early-stage life science firm that creates high-performance target-enrichment procedures with distinctive features for clinical researchers using next-generation sequencing methods to investigate cancer.
• In November 2022, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. collaborated with PathAI for artificial intelligence-based digital pathology applications for improved patient care.
• In November 2022, PerkinElmer launched ready-to-use adeno-associated virus vector (AAV) detection kits to support researchers working on gene therapies.
• In August 2021, Becton Dickinson AG launched a fully automated high-throughput molecular diagnostic platform for laboratories in the US.

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