Next Generation Sequencing Bioinformatics Heats up: Nearing $1000 Genome Sparks Soaring Data Output

The decreasing cost of genome sequencing lends momentum to the global next-generation sequencing (NGS) informatics market. As affordability drives adoption of genome sequencing in multiple end-user segments, an enormous output of NGS data to store and analyze is an overwhelming result. While primary and secondary data analysis tools are likely to become a commodity as pipelines standardize, the high-value tertiary data analysis segment used for biological interpretation and clinical reporting will drive revenue growth.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan’s (http://www.lifesciences.frost.com) Global Next Generation Sequencing Informatics Market finds the market earned revenue of $170 million in 2012 and estimates this to reach $580 million in 2018 at an impressive compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22.7 percent. The research covers commercial primary and secondary data analysis tools, storage, computing, commercial biological interpretation and reporting tools, NGS informatics services, and laboratory information management systems across North America, Europe, Asia, and rest of world.

“With sequencing data production forecast to grow at a CAGR of more than 75 percent between 2012 and 2018, researchers will need efficient NGS informatics solutions to manage, analyze and interpret this escalating amount of data,” said Frost & Sullivan Life Sciences Senior Industry Analyst Christi Bird. “As the number of applications for NGS continues to grow, the implementation of NGS informatics will go up.”

However, customers employ NGS for a broad range of applications, and there is no ideal product for NGS informatics. Therefore, customers may struggle to identify the appropriate tools for their needs. The wide variety of free public domain and commercial tools provided by the 100 plus competitors in this market has also led to low barriers to entry, ever-intensifying competition, and commoditization in certain product segments.

Moreover, given the array of public and open source software available along with readily accessible internal bioinformatics resources, NGS users are often hesitant to make additional investments in commercial informatics tools. Therefore, beyond the challenges of commoditization and standardization, suppliers must convince NGS users their commercial tools are better than free ones.

“As the market matures and informatics prices fall, competitors will rely not just on the expanding volume of users and NGS data developed but also on the high-value interpretation sector of the market to sustain profits globally,” opined Bird. “Suppliers that can develop high-value, simple and streamlined turnkey solutions will find success.”