Mass spectrometry (MS) has shown the necessary abilities to rapidly identify a variety of biochemicals, making it a workhorse for discovering and validating biomarkers in clinical research related to drug development and diagnostic applications, according to a new research report by Kalorama Information (New York).
As such, MS has found a “decisive home” in protein biomarker applications, creating its own market currently worth $290 million, and estimated to grow to about $745 million by 2010.
According to “Mass Spectrometry for Protein Biomarker Applications,” the MS technologies used in biomarker discovery and validation applications “far outperform” any alternatives for this purpose, and the ever-increasing abilities of MS in protein science have drawn large numbers of researchers to procure MS instruments or use available core lab facilities for proteomics experiments.
“Protein biomarkers are helping to revolutionize modern medicine by allowing much earlier diagnosis of disease, providing ongoing information on patients’ responses to therapies, and/or predicting likely conditions or responses to therapeutics,” said Justin Saeks, the report’s author. “The use of mass spectrometry has enabled the large-scale discovery of such molecules providing both the diagnostics and pharmaceutical industries an opportunity for exceptional growth in the near term.”
Kalorama Information, a division of MarketResearch.com, supplies independent market research for the life sciences.