Protein Assays Market

Global Protein Assays Market Size

The global protein assays market was valued at USD 2.17 billion in 2024. The market is projected to reach USD 5.60 billion by 2033 from USD 2.41 billion in 2025, growing at a CAGR of 11.1% from 2025 to 2033.

MARKET DRIVERS

The growing global cancer patient population is one of the key factors driving the growth of the protein assays market.

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, says the WHO. Several pharmaceutical companies have been investing significant funds and resources to innovate and develop effective cancer therapies. Protein assays play an important role in cancer research, diagnosis and treatment and offer valuable insights into the presence, concentration, and activity of specific proteins that are associated with cancer. Such data is used in the identification of potential novel protein biomarkers for the early detection, prognosis, and monitoring of cancer progression. Cancer killed an estimated 10 million people in 2020 and the incidence of cancer is growing steadily with time and resulting in the increasing demand for protein assays market.

The growing investments to conduct protein research and growing efforts by the market participants, especially product launches, boost the protein assay market growth.

The recent past has seen an increasing inclination by end-users towards the high quality and safety of drugs and their ingredients. It has led to rapid advances in molecular biology and genetic engineering, which are anticipated to drive protein analysis technology adoption during the forecast period. Protein assays have distinguished therapeutic applications such as protein purification, electrophoresis, cell biology, molecular biology, and various research applications.

Dynamic improvements in protein analysis and proteomics aim to elevate the call for new technologies and advanced analytical techniques to characterize therapeutic proteins, which is anticipated to boost significant growth in the protein assay market during the forecast period. The protein assay market is experiencing strong growth due to substantial public-private investments in proteomics research and increased pharmaceutical and biotechnology R&D spending to diagnose diseases such as cancer and HIV. Prognostic and diagnostic tests facilitate early diagnosis and are cost-effective, reproducible, and straightforward. Therefore, assays in disease diagnosis, drug discovery, and development encourage biotechnology and bio-pharmacy players to invest in research and development, driving the growth of the protein assays market.

MARKET RESTRAINTS

The high costs associated with protein assay technologies, including instruments, reagents, and consumables, are one of the major factors hampering the market growth.

The lack of a skilled workforce that has the expertise and knowledge to understand the complexity of assay techniques such as immunoassays and mass spectrometry and the lack of standardization further impede the market growth. Limitations in assay sensitivity and specificity, technological limitations, stringent regulatory requirements for protein assay validation and quality control and limited awareness and understanding of their potential benefits among healthcare professionals, researchers, and end-users are other major roadblocks to the growth rate of the protein assays market.

REPORT COVERAGE

SEGMENTAL ANALYSIS

By Product Insights

The reagents segment held the largest share of the global protein assays market in 2024 and the domination of the reagents segment is expected to continue throughout the forecast period. The growing demand for protein assays in various research and diagnostic applications and technological advancements in reagents, such as the development of more sensitive and specific detection reagents majorly drive the growth of the reagents segment in the global market. Continuous research and development activities focused on improving the performance and expanding the application range of protein assay reagents and rapid adoption of proteomics and personalized medicine approaches that require extensive protein analysis further fuel the growth rate of the reagents segment in the worldwide market.

On the other hand, the kits segment is predicted to register a healthy CAGR during the forecast period owing to the rising demand for standardized and reproducible protein assays across research and clinical laboratories and increasing adoption of kits in various settings for high-throughput screening and routine laboratory use due to their cost-effectiveness and time-efficient option for protein analysis.

By Type Insights

The dye-binding segment is expected to hold the leading share of the global market during the forecast period. Factors such as the simplicity, cost-effectiveness, and broad applicability of dye-binding across different protein assay protocols, the flexibility of dye-binding assays in terms of assay formats that allow researchers and laboratories to select the most suitable dye and detection method based on their specific requirements majorly drive the growth of the dye-binding segment in the worldwide market.

By Technology Insights

The absorbance segment is expected to showcase a healthy CAGR during the forecast period due to the simplicity, cost-effectiveness, and compatibility of the absorbance segment with a wide range of protein assay protocols.

By Application Insights

The drug discovery had the major share of the global protein assays market in 2024 and the domination of the segment is expected to continue in the global market in the coming years. The growing investment in pharmaceutical research and development (R&D) activities by both private and public sectors and the rising demand for novel drug candidates to address unmet medical needs and complex diseases drive the growth of the drug discovery segment in the global market. Technological advancements in protein assay techniques, such as high-throughput screening (HTS), fluorescent assays, and immunoassays and rapid adoption of protein assays in various stages of drug development further propel the segmental growth.

The diagnosis segment is expected to grow at a notable CAGR during the forecast period owing to the growing prevalence of chronic diseases, such as cancer, cardiovascular disorders, and infectious diseases that require accurate diagnosis and monitoring and technological advancements in protein assay platforms, such as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA), multiplex assays, and point-of-care testing (POCT), facilitate rapid and reliable diagnosis in clinical settings.

By End-User Insights

The pharmaceutical and biotechnological companies segment captured the leading share of the global market in 2024 and is expected to grow at a significant CAGR during the forecast period. The growing investments in drug development by pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to address the rising demand for novel therapeutics and rapid adoption of protein assays in the assessment of drug efficacy, safety, and pharmacokinetics during preclinical and clinical trials primarily drive the growth of the pharmaceutical and biotechnological companies to segment the global market. Technological advancements in protein assay platforms, such as high-throughput screening (HTS), automation, and multiplexing, enable efficient and large-scale screening of drug candidates, and rising emphasis on personalized medicine and precision therapeutics further promotes the growth rate of the segment.

The clinical laboratories segment is estimated to account for a substantial share of the global market during the forecast period. The growing demand for diagnostic testing and monitoring of various diseases in clinical settings and the rising prevalence of chronic diseases, such as cancer, cardiovascular disorders, and infectious diseases that require routine protein testing primarily drive the growth of the clinical laboratories segment in the global market. Technological advancements in protein assay techniques, such as immunoassays and point-of-care testing (POCT), enabling rapid and accurate diagnosis in clinical laboratories and rising emphasis on personalized medicine and targeted therapies further boost the growth rate of the segment.

REGIONAL ANALYSIS

North America dominated the market in 2024. The domination of the North American market will continue during the forecast period. YOY growth in the pharmaceutical and biotechnological industries, increasing R&D activities from the life sciences industry, and increasing private-public partnerships for drug development are a few of the factors driving the regional market growth. In 2017, according to a publication by Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), a trade group representing companies in the pharmaceutical industry in the United States, PhRMA member organizations (pharmaceutical companies) invested approximately USD 60.21. $ 1 billion in R&D, the largest biopharmaceutical R&D expenditure in the United States, in 2017. Growing demand for protein quantification in laboratories for activities ranging from protein characterization to clinical diagnostic testing and assay drugs will drive market growth in the coming years.

Europe is anticipated to experience rapid growth due to the high investments in various government and privately funded research and development programs in the region and the increased spending on the development of the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry.

Asia-Pacific is expected to grow the fastest due to increasing research funding, growing proteomics and genomics techniques, and rising adoption of advanced Protein assay techniques. The dye-binding Protein Assays segment holds a significant share in the market based on type due to the increasing usage of dye-binding assays in disease diagnosis. On the other hand, based on technology, absorbance-based protein assays had a substantial share in the market due to increased sensitivity and accuracy. Countries like China, Japan, and India in Asia-Pacific will soon become promising markets for protein analysis. Healthcare spending in Asia has increased due to expanding public healthcare programs and the population's growing wealth. India is anticipated to see increased spending due to a government resolution to improve health services. Besides, China and South Korea strive to develop their biotechnology sector for diagnostic purposes. China's efforts to expand its biotech sector have yielded promising results in sectors such as vaccines and biologics, and the same can be anticipated in the protein analysis industry. However, some of the protein analysis market limitations are poor performance in research and development (R&D), high cost of infrastructure, strict regulatory framework, and lack of trained resources.

Latin America is estimated to grow at a steady CAGR during the forecast period. The growing investment in healthcare infrastructure and research and development activities in countries like Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina is one of the major factors driving the Latin American market growth. The growing prevalence of chronic diseases, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disorders, and cancer, driving the demand for protein assays for accurate diagnosis and monitoring and rapid adoption of advanced diagnostic technologies and molecular biology techniques in healthcare facilities across the region contributes to the market growth in Latin America.

MEA is anticipated to grow faster due to factors such as the extensive development of health infrastructure and the growing emphasis on research and development in the health sector.

KEY MARKET PLAYERS

A few of the prominent companies operating in the Global Protein Assays Market profiled in this report are Abcam PLC., Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc., Biovision Inc., Cell Signaling Technology Inc., GE Healthcare, PerkinElmer Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific, Geno Technology Inc., Lonza Group, Merck KGaA, and Novus Biologicals, LLC.

RECENT HAPPENINGS IN THE MARKET

• In January 2019, the FDA developed new guidelines for the immunogenicity testing of therapeutic protein products. In addition, it provides recommendations for each facility to develop and validate assays for detecting drug antibodies.
• In February 2019, Ph.D. and an assistant professor of cell and tissue biology in the School of Dentistry, Stephen Floor, utilized an innovative procedure called long-read sequencing to analyze an entire RNA strand despite being broken down into small pieces. With the advent of technology, the behavior of RNA and its outcome can be studied in different amounts and types of proteins.
• In August 2018, Becton, Dickinson, and Company released the latest assay for protein analysis. The BD ™ AbSeq assay will assist in analyzing proteins at the single-cell level using elevated throughput sequencing.

MARKET SEGMENTATION

This research report on the global protein assay market has been segmented and sub-segmented based on product, type, application, technology, end-user, and region.

By Product

• Reagents
• Kits
• Instruments

By Type

• Dye-Binding
• Copper-Ion Based
• Test Strip

By Technology

• Absorbance
• Colorimetric
• Fluorescence

By Application

• Drug Discovery
• Diagnosis

By End User

• Academic and Research Institutes
• Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology Companies
• Hospitals
• Clinical Laboratories

By Region

• North America
• Europe
• Asia Pacific
• Latin America
• The Middle East and Africa