Suchita Gupta examines the immunochemistry reagents market post Covid-19.
Immunohistochemistry (IHC) is referred to as the study of a branch of chemistry including the study of various components and functions of the immune system with the application of antigen & antibodies as chemical reagents. It is a technique that combines anatomy, physiology, immunology and biochemistry. It involves the use of simple, rapid, and robust automated techniques to do routine analyses in clinical laboratories.
IHC finds the usage of monoclonal as well as polyclonal antibodies. It can determine the tissue distribution of an antigen of interest in healthy and disease tissue, thereby is majorly used for diagnosis of cancers and in surgical pathology. Other than that, IHC is used to treat diseases like heart disease, infectious disease, etc. and to identify muscular and neurodegenerative disorders. This biochemical field also finds its application in endocrinology, drug abuse testing, and drug development. Immunohistochemistry, at the same time, can help in determining the function of specific gene products in fundamental biological processes.
There is no standard fixing solution for different kinds of antigen immobilisation. Acetone is a primary fixing solution that is often used for frozen tissue and cytological smears, owing to its span penetrability & dehydration property. Similarly, alcohol is another primary fixing solution that maintains low molecular weight protein, polypeptide, and cytoplasmic proteins. Aldehyde, on the other hand, is a functional cross-linking agent which is widely used because it has a span penetrability, low background and low contractibility. Also, non-aldehyde, mixed with glutaric dialdehyde or paraformaldehyde, is used in in tissue fixation of peptide hormones.
IHC is mainly used to identify therapeutic response in two types of tumours that are under the growth regulation of the hormones oestrogen & androgen. These tumours are named as carcinoma of breast and prostate. The special enzyme staining techniques that were used traditionally could only detect a limited number of enzymes, proteins, and tissue structures. IHC methods involve specific antigen & antibody reactions, thus, have brought about a revolution in approach to diagnosis of tumors.
According to a report published by Allied Market Research, the global immunochemistry reagents market1size is projected to witness a considerable growth from 2021 to 2030. The growth of the market is driven by certain factors such as rise in number of cases of various diseases, increase in R&D expenditure of biotechnology and pharmaceutical organisations, rise in specialisation in drug monitoring, technological advancements, and surge in adoption of targeted immunotherapy.
In addition, immunochemistry plays an important role within the development of biomarkers. Hence, surge in demand for biomarkers is sequentially contributing to the growth of the global immunochemistry reagents market. Favourable government regulations and investment of huge funds are presenting lucrative opportunities for the growth of the market.
Covid-19 Scenario
On top of that, the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic led to have a positive impact on the growth of the global immunochemistry reagents market. This is attributed to rise in demand for vaccines and treatment drugs for Covid-19, which need an immunohistochemically detection of SARS-CoV2 viral proteins for the appropriate interpretation of histologic findings. Hydroxychloroquine is a commonly used drug that has witnessed huge demand during the pandemic. This trend is likely to continue in the post pandemic as well.
Furthermore, many researchers are constantly introducing immunohistochemistry and immunocytochemistry techniques. For instance, mycophenolic acid (MPA) is an immunosuppressant drug that is widely used for prevention of rejection in organ transplantation and also for treating autoimmune diseases. A ready to use reagents kit i.e. Dosimyco has an essential role in enabling simultaneous quantification of MPA and its metabolite mycophenolate glucuronide (MPAG) in plasma by LC-MS / MS. Such factors are boosting the growth of the global immunochemistry reagents market even more. Here, it is worth mentioning that with improvements in knowledge and technology, the global immunochemistry reagents market is expected to gather more growth in the upcoming years.
References
1: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/immunochemistry-reagents-market-A12595
