High Prevalence of Inherited Disorders and Addition of New Diseases to List of Screened Diseases for Newborns to Augment Growth of Newborn Screening Market

 

Newborn screening is an important public health service of screening infants soon after birth for potentially treatable conditions but not medically evident at the newborn age. Screening can be done through the primary care physician, pediatrician, or family doctor. Newborn screening can also be performed by the infant's nursery. Newborn screening tests screen for height, head size, and ear shape and color. Newborn screening for high risk conditions like congenital heart disease, birth defects, and infections, such as Streptococcus pneumoniae, are best achieved through routine eye examinations. Screening tests for a family history of any of these conditions can also help detect any problems at an earlier age.

Market Dynamics

High prevalence of inherited disorders is expected to propel growth of the newborn screening market. For instance, according to Summary of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Patient Registry, 2003–2018, the number of people with cystic fibrosis increased from 21,421 in 2003 to 30,775 in 2018.  Moreover, increasing adoption of newborn screening is also expected to aid in growth of the market. For instance, in January 2021, in the U.S., The Kansas Department of Health and Environment added two lysosomal storage disorders to the Kansas Newborn Screening blood spot panel: Pompe Disease and Mucopolysaccharidoses I (MPS I).

Addition of new diseases to the list of screened diseases for newborns is expected to offer lucrative growth opportunities for players in the newborn screening market. For instance, in January 2020, LB 825 was introduced in the U.S to add spinal muscular atrophy to the list of screened diseases for newborns. Moreover, R&D in newborn screening is also expected to aid in growth of the market. For instance, in July 2020, Fortress Biotech, Inc. announced the publication of a study, “Targeted Next Generation Sequencing for Newborn Screening of Menkes Disease” in Molecular Genetics and Metabolism Reports.

Competitive Analysis

Major players operating in the global newborn screening market include, Agilent Technologies, AB SCIEX, Bio-Rad Laboratories, Fortress Biotech, Inc., Covidien PLC, GE Life Sciences, Masimo Corporation, PerkinElmer, Inc., Natus Medical Inc., PerkinElmer Inc., and ZenTech S.A.

Major players operating in the global newborn screening market are focused on adopting various strategies to enhance their market share. For instance, in February 2020, PerkinElmer, Inc. was selected as one of the providers of a newborn screening test for Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID) in collaboration with Public Health England’s SCID evaluation program.