Stem Cell Research Products: Opportunities, Tools, & Technologies

Overview: With recent advances in induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) creating excitement in stem cell research circles and U.S. President Obama expanding the number of human embryonic stem cell lines (hESC) available for federally funded research, rapid changes have been occurring in the field of stem cell science. Not surprisingly, analysis of stem cell publication rates, grant activity, patent applications, and new product launches reveal that stem cell research products have now become the single most valuable product opportunity available to life science suppliers. The market report "Stem Cell Research Products: Opportunities, Tools & Technologies" was produced using a detailed end-user survey of research scientists, in which over 400 stem cell researchers from the U.S., Canada, Europe, Asia, Australia and other international regions participated. The findings represent perspectives across a global audience of researchers. As a technology company, BioInformant also used proprietary data-derivation techniques to quantify and assess critical trends in the stem cells marketplace. The result is a high value, full-content report designed to inform the decision-making of research supply companies. Featured elements of this report include: What are novel stem cells research products that can be developed? What stem cells types are most frequently used by research scientists? Which species of stem cells do scientists prefer and what are the factors driving this preference (access, pricing, funding, handling advantages)? What are the most frequently used stem cell markers? What are the most common research applications, and how do they differ by segment (academic, industrial, and government)? Who are the leading suppliers of stem cell products? What stem cell product categories are already available in the marketplace? What are current grant, patent, and scientific publication rate trends? What are the major funding sources, trends, and dollar values, for domestic and international researchers? What is the size of the stem cell research products marketplace and how fast is it growing? What are communication strategies for accessing the marketplace? And much more... In summary, the report provides detailed insight into the stem cells research products marketplace and the needs of active stem cell scientists.

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Excerpt

Stem cells are primitive cells found in all multi-cellular organisms that are characterized by self-renewal and the capacity to differentiate into any mature cell type. Several broad categories of stem cells exist, including embryonic stem cells, derived from blastocysts; fetal stem cells, obtained from aborted fetuses; adult stem cells, found in adult tissues; cord blood stem cells, isolated from umbilical tissue; dental stem cells, derived from deciduous teeth; cancer stem cells, which give rise to clonal populations of cells that form tumors or disperse in the body; and animal stem cells, derived from non-human sources.

In a developing embryo, stem cells can differentiate into all of the specialized embryonic tissues. In adult organisms, stem and progenitor cells act as a repair system for the body, replenishing specialized cells. Of interest to researchers is the potential to use stem cells in regenerative medicine to treat conditions ranging from diabetes to cardiovascular disease and neurological disorders. Additionally, the ability to use stem cells to improve drug target validation and toxicology screening is of intense interest to pharmaceutical companies. Stem cells are also being studied for their ability to improve both the understanding and treatment of birth disorders.

To facilitate research resulting from interest in these far-ranging applications, a large and growing stem cells research products market has emerged. Large companies selling stem cell research products include Invitrogen, BD Biosciences, Thermo Fisher Scientific, and Millipore, although dozens of other suppliers exist as well. Products offered by these companies include: antibodies to stem cell antigens, bead-based stem cell separation systems, stem cell protein purification and analysis tools, tools for DNA and RNA-based characterization of stem cells, stem cell culture and media reagents, stem cell specific growth factors and cytokines, tools for stem cell gene regulation, a range of stem cell services, tools for in vivo and in vitro stem cell tracking, and stem cell lines.

Currently, the federal government is an important, although not dominant, source of funding for stem cell research. The reason is that states are spending almost as much as the federal government on stem cell research and are actually spending more than the federal government on human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research. Private sources also contribute a huge amount of funding, with analysis of recent large gifts summing to over $1.7 billion.

Specifically, market analysis determined the size of the stem cell research products market to be $883M and growing at a rate of 8.9% for full-year 2010. As growth of the stem cell research market is best modeled by polynomial growth, the size of the market is predicted to increase to $1.35B by 2015. Because of the massive size of this market, developing either niche products or a diverse stem cell product line represents a significant opportunity for research supply companies. This report explores current market conditions and provides guidance for companies interested in developing strategically positioned stem cell product lines.