Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Market (2026-2036)

The growth of this market is mainly driven by the rising global burden of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), international and national commitments to strengthen AMR surveillance, the spread of carbapenem-resistant and other multidrug-resistant organisms, and the growing importance of antimicrobial stewardship programs that depend on reliable susceptibility data. In addition, the adoption of rapid phenotypic and molecular resistance detection, the use of whole-genome sequencing to track resistant strains and resistance genes, the expansion of One Health surveillance across human, animal, food, and environmental sectors, and the development of digital surveillance and data platforms are further supporting the growth of this market. However, budget constraints at hospitals and public health agencies and the slow adoption of new rapid technologies are moderating growth.

The Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Market, also referred to as the AMR surveillance market, antimicrobial resistance detection and monitoring market, or resistance surveillance diagnostics market, comprises the instruments, consumables and reagents, software, and services used to detect antimicrobial resistance in bacteria, fungi, and mycobacteria, characterize resistance mechanisms, and generate and analyze data to monitor resistance trends. The market includes phenotypic antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) systems, panels, cards, gradient strips, disks, and culture media; rapid phenotypic AST systems; molecular assays for resistance genes such as carbapenemases, extended-spectrum beta-lactamases, and methicillin and vancomycin resistance; mass spectrometry-based identification systems used in surveillance workflows; whole-genome and metagenomic sequencing for resistance gene and strain tracking; laboratory information and surveillance software; and surveillance services, including reference laboratory testing and industry-sponsored surveillance programs. The market ecosystem extends from diagnostic and sequencing companies to hospital and reference laboratories, public health laboratories and national reference centers, antimicrobial stewardship teams, pharmaceutical companies, veterinary and food safety agencies, and international organizations.

The market is experiencing steady growth as antimicrobial resistance has become one of the most serious threats to global health. The Global Research on Antimicrobial Resistance (GRAM) study published in The Lancet in September 2024 estimated that 1.14 million deaths in 2021 were directly attributable to bacterial antimicrobial resistance and 4.71 million were associated with it, and projected that about 39 million people could die directly from antimicrobial resistance between 2025 and 2050 without further action. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Antibiotic Resistance Surveillance Report 2025, released in October 2025, about one in six laboratory-confirmed bacterial infections worldwide in 2023 were resistant to antibiotic treatment, resistance rose for more than 40% of monitored antibiotic and pathogen combinations between 2018 and 2023 at an average of 5% to 15% per year, and about one in three infections were resistant in the South-East Asia and Eastern Mediterranean regions. Resistance undermines the treatment of common infections, surgery, cancer chemotherapy, and organ transplantation, and surveillance is essential to guide treatment guidelines, stewardship programs, infection control, and the development of new antibiotics.

International commitments are strengthening the policy framework for surveillance. In September 2024, the United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting on Antimicrobial Resistance approved a political declaration committing countries to reduce deaths associated with bacterial antimicrobial resistance by 10% by 2030 against a 2019 baseline of 4.95 million deaths and to strengthen national surveillance systems for antimicrobial resistance and antimicrobial use. Participation in the WHO Global Antimicrobial Resistance and Use Surveillance System (GLASS) increased from 25 countries in 2016 to 104 countries in 2023, but 48% of countries did not report data in 2023, and about half of reporting countries lacked the systems needed to generate reliable data. WHO aims for all countries to report high-quality data on antimicrobial resistance and antimicrobial use by 2030, which will require significant investment in laboratory capacity, quality assurance, and data systems, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.

The spread of carbapenem-resistant organisms is a particular concern. In September 2025, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that infections caused by NDM-producing carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (NDM-CRE) increased by more than 460% in the U.S. between 2019 and 2023, noting that many clinical laboratories lack the capacity to test for NDM-CRE and that carbapenemase testing can be performed through public health laboratories when it is not available locally. Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales, Acinetobacter baumannii, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa are among the highest-priority resistant pathogens, and the WHO surveillance report found that more than 55% of Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates were resistant to third-generation cephalosporins globally, rising above 70% in the African Region. The detection of specific carbapenemase genes is increasingly important because new antibiotics are active against some resistance mechanisms but not others.

Technology is evolving from culture-based testing toward faster and more informative methods. Automated phenotypic AST systems remain the foundation of clinical susceptibility testing and surveillance, but rapid phenotypic AST, molecular resistance gene detection, and whole-genome sequencing are increasingly used to deliver faster results and to characterize resistance mechanisms and transmission. bioMérieux, the leading provider of clinical microbiology solutions, reported first half 2026 clinical microbiology organic sales growth of 4.3%, driven by reagent sales, and recorded a partial impairment of its VITEK REVEAL rapid AST technology, while guiding to 2026 organic sales growth of 3% to 5%. In November 2025, Bruker acquired AST Revolution, which had acquired the WAVE and Arc rapid antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) systems and related intellectual property of Accelerate Diagnostics through a court-approved Chapter 11 process in August 2025. Sequencing platforms from Illumina and Oxford Nanopore Technologies, and analysis tools from companies such as QIAGEN, support genomic AMR surveillance in public health and hospital laboratories.

One Health surveillance is expanding the scope of the market. Antimicrobial resistance spreads between humans, animals, food, and the environment, and countries are increasingly monitoring resistance in livestock, food products, and wastewater alongside clinical surveillance. Wastewater and environmental surveillance programs are being used to monitor resistance genes at the community level, and food safety agencies use whole-genome sequencing to track resistant foodborne pathogens.

At the same time, the market faces challenges related to laboratory capacity and funding, the slow adoption of rapid technologies, and the integration of surveillance data. The difficulties faced by rapid AST developers, including the Chapter 11 process of Accelerate Diagnostics in 2025 and the partial impairment of the VITEK REVEAL technology reported by bioMérieux in 2026, illustrate the commercial challenges of introducing new technologies into budget-constrained microbiology laboratories. As a result, providers that can deliver cost-effective, integrated testing and data solutions and support surveillance capacity in underserved regions are expected to capture the largest share of growth over the forecast period.