Veterinary Diagnostics Market: Growth, Size, Share, and Trends

Market Growth Outlook Summary

The global veterinary diagnostics market, valued at US$3.1 billion in 2022, is forecasted to grow at a robust CAGR of 7.1%, reaching US$3.3 billion in 2023 and an impressive US$5.0 billion by 2029. An increase in viral mutation rate increases the disease load on animals leading to an increase in diagnostic testing, an increase in diseases from animals that migrate from place to place, a rise in acquired ailments like dermatological diseases and urinary tract infections, a rise in animal population and a declining proper care/ hygiene, rise in pet insurance and cost of pet care, and growing demand for timely diagnostic testing for animal health, are all factors that influence this market. Untapped emerging markets hold numerous opportunities for the market to flourish. Large companies outsource manufacturing to local players, leading to opportunistic growth for local players in this market.

Veterinary Diagnostics Market Trends

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Veterinary Diagnostics Market Dynamics

Driver: Increasing incidence of transboundary and zoonotic diseases

There are at least 30 important diseases in humans that are transmitted through animals. According to the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), 13 zoonoses have been identified as the cause of 2.4 billion cases of human diseases and 2.2 million deaths per year. Most human infections come from companion animals (such as dogs and cats) and livestock (such as pigs, chickens, cattle, goats, and camels). Some of the major zoonotic diseases transmitted from animals to humans are zoonotic gastrointestinal disease, leptospirosis, cysticercosis, zoonotic tuberculosis, and rabies.

Toxoplasmosis, which is transmitted via cat feces and unprocessed or undercooked infected meat, is quite common, with 10–20% of the UK population and 22% of the US population expected to carry the parasite as cysts. Cats with chronic bacteremia are mainly infected through saliva; there is a high risk of transmittance from young adult cats. Although cats are asymptomatic carriers, weaker individuals can develop generalized infections. The outbreak of such diseases can affect animal health and, in the case of bovines and food-producing animals, affect meat and milk productivity and the quality of food products.

Restraint: Rising pet care costs

Veterinary spending has been exponentially growing in the last few years. The highest spending in the pet care community is taken up by pet care followed by pet food. Pet owners in the US spent over 35.9 billion dollars in the year 2022, a rise of ~15% from 2020. Pet care costs in medium sized pet care communities in veterinary practice reached up to $4,500. A rise of more than 100% in the last three years. The highest spending was up to USD 20,000. Vet visit cost has also reached a high number. Nearly 120 dollars are spent per visit to a veterinarian excluding the tests ordered for diagnosis. Nearly 160+ $ is spent on dog clinical visits and ~$75 on cat clinical visits. The rise in clinical visits is directly attributed to the increase in the cost of materials and consumables, leading to a drastic increase in clinical treatments. For instance, conducting sensitivity tests in pets using the PCR technique is more expensive than the treatment for sensitivity itself. Thus, the rise in the cost of diagnosis is a cause of concern for the growth of this market.

Opportunity: Untapped markets of emerging nations

A large number of revenue is expected to be generated from the emerging economies in the veterinary diagnostic market like Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East and Africa. The developed regions are soon getting saturated and slow growth is observed in the emergence of newer reference labs or hospital/ clinic laboratories. This is certainly not the case in emerging economies. Here the establishment of new reference labs and improved funding at universities to conduct research for veterinary diagnostics is growing. Production of livestock and dairy products is highest in the Asian region which boosts the diagnostics market in the region. For instance, in 2022, around 55.41 million metric tons of pork was produced in China, an increase from around 52.96 million tons in the previous year. (Statista). Additionally, India is growing at a high rate in this market second to China. India is witnessing high production in dairy and meat production. For instance, in the current year 2021-22, milk production has registered an annual growth rate of5.29%. In 2021-22, the total egg production in the country is129.60 billion noswhich has increased by6.19%as compared to the previous year. The total meat production in the country is9.29 million tonnesfor the year 2021-22 with an annual growth rate of5.62%. To tackle the growing demand for animal products these countries are witnessing increased investment is observed by veterinarians into technologically advanced solutions. To increase revenue in such a high growth market, leading giants like Zoetis, Inc. are investing in the region. For instance, Zoetis, has opened a learning and training center in Thailand, to support the animal industry. Other companies like Virbac acquired Globion, an Indian organization in the animal diagnostic and treatment space.

Challenge: Developing markets are experiencing a reduction in the number of practicing veterinarians

Skilled pathologists and veterinarians are not part of the active practicing employment leading to a shortage of the total population of veterinarians in emerging economies. These economies include countries in Latin America like Brazil, Mexico, Argentina etc., some in the Asia Pacific region like India China, and others in the African region as well. This is creating a huge demand and supply gap in the veterinary profession.

Every year only 3000 veterinarians graduate from colleges in India and the total. However, according to the report published by the National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO), in 2022, there is a shortage of around55,000veterinarians in India. The report also highlights the inadequate infrastructure, with only31%of the veterinary hospitals and dispensaries having the required facilities for treating animals. Additionally, the report states that around40%of the veterinary professionals in the country are not trained to handle emergencies, which is a significant concern in a sector where timely treatment can mean the difference between life and death.

Veterinary Diagnostics Market Ecosystem

Prominent companies in this market include IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (US), Zoetis, Inc. (US), Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (US), bioMérieux SA (France), Heska Corporation (US), NEOGEN Corporation (US), Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc. (US), Virbac (France), FUJIFILM Holdings Corporation (Japan), Shenzhen Mindray Animal Medical Technology Co. Ltd. (China), INDICAL BIOSCIENCE GmbH (Germany), BioNote, Inc. (South Korea), Biogal Galed Labs (Israel), Agrolabo S.p.A. (Italy), and Innovative Diagnostics (France)

The bacterial infection segment accounted for the largest share of the veterinary diagnostic industry.

Bacterial infections can be easily transmitted from one animal to another. This can happen through direct contact, through contact with contaminated surfaces or objects, or through the air. Some bacteria have developed antibiotic resistance.This means that they are no longer susceptible to the antibiotics that are commonly used to treat them. This makes treatment ineffective, and more animals are prone to bacterial infection transfer. Companion animals may also be exposed to bacteria from their humans, especially if the humans have poor hygiene. Livestock animals are often kept in close quarters, which can facilitate the spread of bacteria.Livestock animals may also be stressed, which can weaken their immune systems and make them more susceptible to infection. Such factors are responsible for its large share in the market.

The reference laboratories segment of the veterinary diagnostic industry accounted for the largest share of the end user market.

The reference laboratories segment accounted for the largest share of the veterinary diagnostic market due to the rise in the samples received by the laboratories for testing, the increase in reference laboratories in developed markets, high technological capabilities, skilled technicians, economical costs of tests and faster results, are the factors boosting the segment growth. Globally, reference laboratories are gaining greater importance due to growing concerns about animal health and the increasing prevalence of zoonotic diseases, swine flu, MERS-CoV, Ebola virus, and HIV. It has become a highly established center for the identification of various disease cases in animals like dogs, cats, sheep, goats, birds etc. The wide array of tests offered by this end user is unmatched by any other end user like a hospital or clinical lab. Some of the most prominent reference labs in developed economies are IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (US), VCA Inc. (US), GD Animal Health (Netherlands), Zoetis, Inc. (US), NEOGEN Corporation (US), Boehringer Ingelheim (Germany), Marshfield Labs (US), ProtaTek International, Inc. (US), Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory (US), University of Minnesota (Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory) (US).

Molecular Diagnostics segment accounted for the highest rate in the veterinary diagnostic industry.

The rise in adoption of PCR tests, increased advancements in the rPCT technology, rise in genomic testing and development of newer tests in the genomic testing segment, specificity and reliability of these tests to identify chronic conditions and cost-effectiveness influence the market growth. The rise in the number of PCR tests, such as real-time PCR, assembly PCR, hot-start PCR, methylation-specific PCR (MSP), and nested PCR, is also boosting molecular diagnostics growth due to the increased testing application for critical virus detection. Further, the RT-PCR technology is cost-effective and involves concurrent monitoring of expression levels of multiple genetic messages in real time. Additionally, the emergence of biochips and their growing applications in the identification of infectious diseases is another major factor driving microarray technology which is further responsible for boosting the molecular diagnostics market. Steady adoption of nucleic acid sequencing techniques by veterinary laboratories due to their use in identifying genomic sequencing to ease of detection of viruses, is also the factor for growth in the molecular diagnostic market.

North America is expected to account for the largest share of the veterinary diagnostic industry.

The veterinary diagnostic market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East & and Africa. In 2022, the North American region accounted for the largest share of the market. Factors such as increased insurance expenditure on animal health, rise in clinical and non-clinical visits to the veterinary practice, increase in private clinical practice for companion animals or equine, exponential increase in the number of households adopting pets, and a rise in number of animals in the companion segment and livestock segment.

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The prominent players in the veterinary diagnostic market are IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (US), Zoetis, Inc. (US), Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (US), bioMérieux SA (France), Heska Corporation (US), NEOGEN Corporation (US), Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc. (US), Virbac (France), FUJIFILM Holdings Corporation (Japan), Shenzhen Mindray Animal Medical Technology Co. Ltd. (China), INDICAL BIOSCIENCE GmbH (Germany), BioNote, Inc. (South Korea), Biogal Galed Labs (Israel), Agrolabo S.p.A. (Italy), and Innovative Diagnostics (France). These players include high shares in the market due to acquisitions, partnerships, strategic mergers, and large distribution channels adopted by them. This also leads to an increase in their geographic reach.

Veterinary Diagnostics Market Report Scope

The research report categorizes the veterinary diagnostic market to forecast revenue and analyze trends in each of the following submarkets:

By Product

• CONSUMABLES
• INSTRUMENTS

By Technology

• CLINICAL BIOCHEMISTRY
  • CLINICAL CHEMISTRY ANALYSIS
    • Clinical chemistry reagent clips & cartridges
    • Clinical chemistry analyzers
  • glucose monitoring
    • Blood Glucose Strips
    • Glucose Monitors
    • Urine Glucose Strips
  • Blood Gas & Electrolyte Analysis
    • Blood Gas and Electrolyte Reagent Clips and Cartridges
    • Glucose Monitors
    • Blood Gas & Electrolyte Analyzers
• Molecular Diagnostics
  • Ploymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) Tests
  • Microarrays
  • Nucleic Acid Sequencing
  • Other Molecular Diagnostic Products
• Hematology
  • Hematology Cartridges
  • Hematology Analyzers
• Urinalysis
  • Urinalysis Clips & Cartridges/Panels
  • Urine Analyzers
  • Urine Test Strips
• immunodiagnostics
  • Lateral Flow Assays
    • Lateral Flow Rapid Tests
    • Lateral Flow Strip Readers
  • ELISA Tests
  • Allergen-specific Immunodiagnostic Tests
  • Immunoassay Analyzers
  • Radioimmunoassay
  • Other Immunodiagnostic Products
• Other Veterinary Diagnostic Technologies

By Animal Type

• companion animals
  • dogs
  • cats
  • horses
  • Other Companion Animals
• livestock
  • cattle
  • pigs
  • poultry
  • other livestock

By Disease Type

• INFECTIOUS DISEASE
  • bacterial infection
  • viral infection
  • parasitic infection
  • other infection
• Endocrinology
• Oncology
• Cardiology
• Others

By End User

• Veterinary Reference Laboratories
• Veterinary Hospitals & Clinics
• Point-of-care/ In-house Testing
• Veterinary Research Institutes & Universities

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 APAC
• Latin America
  • Brazil
  • Mexico
  • Rest of LATAM
• Middle East and Africa

Recent Developments of Veterinary Diagnostics Market

• In March 2023, Zoetis, Inc. introduced two updates in the VEtscan Imagst platform. One is the AI dermatology and another for AI equine FEC analysis. These diagnostic additions broaden Vetscan Imagyst testing capabilities beyond existing AI canine and feline fecal analysis, AI blood smear analysis and digital cytology applications to include new in-clinic tests that are fully integrated into the company’s cloud-based artificial intelligence capabilities.
• In July 2022, BioNote USA partnered with PSIvet. The partnership will make BioNote’s Vcheck line of analyzers and tests even more affordable to PSIvet’s 5,000-plus veterinary practices.
• In August 2021, INDICAL BIOSCIENCE acquired Checkpoints to expand its poultry portfolio and direct-to-producer offerings.
• In June 2021, Idexx Laboratories acquired ezyVet, a practice information management system (PIMS). The acquisition would expand Idexx’s world-class cloud software offerings that support customers with technology solutions that raise the standard of care for patients, improve practice efficiency, and enable more effective communication with pet owners.

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