Pandemic has led to a boost in demands for testing, and biosensor companies are competing with each other to develop chips that can detect the presence of the coronavirus RNA, antibodies, and antigens
COVID-19 as a Damocles sword hanging right above our heads all the time, no matter where we go, has become a nuisance. What would have happened if we had a testing technique where, we just needed to prick our finger or swab our nose, put the sample on a chip and in matter of minutes it showed us our health status, I just wonder!
To give you all good news, this is where we are heading right now and this is exactly how we remove that sword from over our heads.
Multiple biosensor companies have treated this pandemic as a blessing in disguise and directed all their resources towards inventing those sensors which can monitor patient’s recovery and above all, detect the presence of virus, antibodies and antigen at a quicker pace.
To go on further, let me just set some definitions straight.
What are Biosensors?
Biosensors, as all the other sensors, are analytical devices that are used to detect the presence of something. Biosensors detect the presence of a biological compound, also referred as biological analyte, a biological structure or a microorganism in a living being. It accomplishes this task by converting a biological response from organisms into quantifiable and processable signals.
Why so Important during pandemic?
This pandemic raged on due to the non-availability of vaccine and cure for it. And the only treatment was self-isolation, proper nutrition, rest and medicines for the symptoms. This made detecting the infection quickly a sine qua non for stopping the spread of virus. Therefore, testing quickly with good efficiency was the need of the hour. This makes biosensors extremely important, as they have the potential to detect the presence of virus, antibodies or antigen in a small amount of time with great efficiency.
Market Insights You were Waiting for!
Pandemic affected a lot many markets due to the restrictions placed on global movement of people and freights, and biosensors market was not left out of it. However, as the need for testing and monitoring methods shot up and the restrictions are now being lifted, everything is coming back to normal. In fact, there are lot many new opportunities that found its ways to the market as well. To give you an estimate of the growth market is eyeing, it is expected to grow at a CAGR 7.9% and reach USD 41.8 billion by 2028.
Table below summarizes the state of pandemic impact and post-pandemic outlook in an apt way.
| Pandemic Impact | Post-Pandemic Outlook |
| Pandemic affected the production of the sensors, which led to the demand-supply gap. The situation was aggravated due to the logistical issues faced all over the world on account of the lockdown restrictions. | With the lifting of lockdown restrictions in multiple countries and initiation of manufacturing processes, the demand-supply gap has been observed to be decreasing and market is steadily picking up pace as time passes. |
| COVID-19 has generated new market opportunities for the biosensors, as there is a high demand for innovative biosensors that can be used in monitoring the health status of the patients. | Biosensors have proved to be a strong dependable rock, when it comes to the detection and monitoring diabetes. Similarly, they are also being looked at for effectiveness in COVID-19 testing and monitoring. |
| In May 2020, Philips launched the Biosensor BX100 to assist in the monitoring of COVID-19 patients across hospitals. This wireless, wearable biosensor device is specifically designed to detect early deterioration in the affected patients. | Rogue Valley Microdevices is a wafer foundry that specializes in manufacturing microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and sensors, and it is working with several startups scrambling to produce biosensors for coronavirus testing. Two of those companies—Cardea Bio and Hememics—are talking publicly about their work. |
In Conclusion
Yes, similar to every market that suffered due to production and manufacturing halt in addition to logistical issues, biosensors suffered too. However, pandemic also brought slew of opportunities for the market, which are being capitalized on by the major market players, eyeing that exponential growth in the coming years.
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