Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) Market (2023-2030)

The growth of the NGS market is mainly attributed to increasing cancer prevalence & increasing application of NGS in cancer treatment and research, declining cost of genome sequencing, technological advancements in sequencing procedures, increasing pharmaceutical R&D expenditure, a surge in genome mapping programs, improvement in regulatory and reimbursement scenarios for NGS–based diagnostic tests.

However, the high costs of NGS systems and associated consumables, availability of alternative technologies, low chances of identifying positive, actionable mutations for precision medicine, and ethical & legal issues related to NGS–based diagnosis are restraints to the market's growth. Increasing applications of NGS, rising adoption of bioinformatics and genomic data management solutions, and government initiatives for large-scale genomic sequencing projects are opportunities leading to the market's growth. However, the lack of skilled professionals and regulatory and standardization concerns in diagnostic testing are challenges to the growth of the NGS market. Also, partnerships and collaborations by manufacturers to expand and improve product offerings, development of portable sequencing technologies, and increasing demand for NGS automation workstations are trends in the NGS market.

With rapid advancements in NGS technology, key players in this market actively collaborate to transform patients‘ lives by providing appropriate genetic variation and function analysis and ultimately delivering personalized healthcare. Many of these collaborations aim to improve bioinformatics and enhance technological capabilities for developing innovative products and solutions.:

• In January 2023, QIAGEN partnered with Helix OpCo, LLC (U.S.), a population genomics and viral surveillance company. This partnership will trigger the adoption of next-generation sequencing companion diagnostics in hereditary diseases.

• In March 2023, QIAGEN partnered with SOPHiA GENETICS (U.S.) to combine Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) strengths. This partnership will give customers an advantage over high-quality QIAGEN NGS preparation kits.

• In November 2022, Illumina partnered with Twist Bioscience (U.S.) to produce an Exome 2.0 Plus panel for disease research. Through this partnership, Illumina will offer the Exome 2.0 Plus panel with its DNA library preparation reagents packaged as a kit.

• In February 2022, Beckman Coulter, Inc. (U.S.) collaborated with Illumina, Inc. (U.S.) to develop new applications for the Biomek NGeniuS System. Illumina will develop applications specifically designed for the Biomek NGeniuS liquid handler.

• In November 2021, Beckman Coulter, Inc. (U.S.) collaborated with Integrated DNA Technologies, Inc. (U.S.) to develop new applications for the Biomek NGeniuS System. Integrated DNA Technologies aims to make its NGS solutions more accessible to a broader array of labs by automating its NGS solutions on the Biomek NGeniuS System.

• In September 2021, Beckman Coulter, Inc. (U.S.) collaborated with Invitae Corporation (U.S.) to develop new applications for the Biomek NGeniuS System.

• In June 2021, QIAGEN N.V. (Germany) collaborated with Verogen Inc. (U.S.) to accelerate the automation of NGS library prep kits and expand the Biomek NGenuiS liquid handler applications. Also, through this collaboration, both companies cooperate to commercialize a broad menu of forensically validated workflows for NGS by combining QIAGEN’s QIAseq products with Verogen’s library preparation products, expertise, and automation solutions.

• In February 2021, Thermo Fisher Scientific partnered with SPT Labtech Ltd (U.K.). Through this partnership, SPT Labtech will co-market Thermo Fisher’s NGS library preparation products, further reducing Thermo Fisher’s material and reagent requirements for high throughput genome sequencing.

Thus, increasing collaborations among vendors are expected to accelerate the adoption of the NGS technology.

The ability to sequence genes of any organism to make clinical and research conclusions has proved to be a game changer for public health. Taking this forward, portable handheld sequencing devices are making way for the future growth of this market by making sequencing cheaper, simpler, and faster without the need for big clinical laboratories. Real-time sequencing has enabled researchers and physicians to have sequencing data on the spot and act instantly. The portable nanopore-based sequencers are designed with the potential to sequence the entire genome in less than USD 1,000. The device passes the DNA sequence through a pore within a small protein called the nanopore that is embedded within a membrane. The DNA molecule then passes through the nanopore connecting the template and the ―complementary strand with the adaptor. The connection of the strands with the adaptor initiates an electric current, which is typically recorded and represented in the form of a graph.

Real-time sequencing is now slowly being adopted in disease characterization, food, and healthcare industry to detect contaminants, plant genome analysis in crop processing, and more. For instance, Boston-based biotech company Ginkgo Bioworks used a MinION nanopore sequencing device to detect the toxic contaminants in the culture and alerted the operators to remove toxic components, thus, saving the culture. Also, the scientists in Madagascar, for the first time, performed DNA sequencing in the country using portable technology to rapidly identify the bacteria responsible for tuberculosis (TB) and its drug resistance profile.

Also, recently portable sequencing devices were proven useful for the early detection of Ebola and Zika viruses. According to Cornell University (U.S.), portable sequencing offers various advantages over benchtop sequencers. Portable sequencers are inexpensive, mobile, handy, and designed to be easily operable in the field. Moreover, they use the biochemical principle, which enables real-time streaming of the raw signal as soon as the DNA molecules are sensed.