Protein Assays Market - Global Industry Size, Share, Trends, Opportunity & Forecast, Segmented By Type (Dye Binding Assays, Test Strip-Based Assays, Copper-Ion-Based Assays, Others), By Product (Reagents, Kits, Instruments and Accessories), By Technology (Colorimetric Protein Assays, Fluorescence-Based Protein Assays, Absorbance-Based Protein Assays), By Application (Drug Discovery and Development, Disease Diagnosis, Others), By End User (Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Companies, Clinical Laboratories, Hospitals, Academic Research Institutes, Others), By Region & Competition, 2020-2030F

Market Overview

Global Protein Assays market was valued at USD 2.72 Billion in 2024 and is expected to reach USD 3.96 Billion by 2030 with a CAGR of 6.40%. The Global Protein Assays Market is witnessing consistent and robust growth, fueled by increasing demand for accurate protein quantification across key sectors such as drug discovery, clinical diagnostics, biotechnology research, and biopharmaceutical manufacturing. Protein assays analytical tools used to measure protein concentration, structure, and function in biological samples are integral to understanding disease pathways, advancing therapeutic development, and ensuring product quality and regulatory compliance.

The market is expected to maintain a strong growth trajectory, supported by ongoing advancements in biotechnology, the rising global burden of disease, and the critical role of protein analysis in both diagnostics and therapeutics. Companies that focus on product innovation, tailored assay solutions, and strategic collaborations will be well-positioned to capture emerging opportunities and strengthen their competitive edge in this evolving market landscape.

Key Market Drivers

Rising Incidence of Chronic Diseases and Aging Population

The increasing global burden of chronic diseases, coupled with a rapidly growing aging population, is a major factor accelerating the growth of the Global Protein Assays Market. According to estimates from the World Health Organization (WHO), non-communicable diseases (NCDs) accounted for approximately 75% of all non-pandemic-related deaths worldwide in 2021. As healthcare systems and life sciences industries intensify efforts to diagnose, monitor, and treat long-term health conditions, the demand for precise protein quantification tools continues to rise significantly. The global incidence of chronic diseases is rising sharply. Cancer cases are projected to reach 35 million by 2050 an increase of 77% compared to 2022. In 2019, cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) were responsible for an estimated 17.9 million deaths, with over 75% occurring in low- and middle-income countries. Additionally, the World Health Organization (WHO) reports that 14% of adults aged 18 and above were living with diabetes in 2022, doubling from 7% in 1990. Accurate measurement of these proteins is critical for both early diagnosis and ongoing disease monitoring.  Protein assays enable clinicians to measure disease-related biomarkers like C-reactive protein (CRP), troponins, and cancer antigens, providing actionable insights for treatment decisions. In chronic conditions, healthcare providers rely on repeat testing to track disease progression, therapy effectiveness, or relapse risk, driving recurring demand for assay kits and reagents. As governments and healthcare providers adopt preventive healthcare models, protein assays are increasingly used in screening programs to detect early signs of diseases like prostate or breast cancer.

In 2020, the global population of individuals aged 60 and above surpassed the number of children under the age of five. Between 2015 and 2050, the share of people over 60 is expected to nearly double from 12% to 22% reflecting a significant demographic shift toward an aging population. The global demographic shift toward an older population is contributing to the rise in age-associated diseases such as Alzheimer’s, osteoporosis, and arthritis, where protein-level changes are key indicators of disease onset and severity. As the elderly population grows, so does the need for routine diagnostic procedures including protein-based tests which places increasing demand on hospitals, diagnostic labs, and point-of-care facilities. Older patients often require more precise and less invasive therapeutic strategies. Protein assays are essential for determining suitable treatment regimens based on individual biomarker profiles. The aging population is also a key driver of pharmaceutical and biotech R&D focused on age-related conditions, resulting in increased use of protein assays during preclinical research and clinical trials. With chronic diseases and aging now affecting not only developed nations but also emerging economies, protein assays are gaining broader geographic relevance. This global shift is expanding the customer base for assay developers and diagnostic companies. Nations like India, China, and Brazil are experiencing both an aging demographic and a surge in non-communicable diseases, prompting increased investment in healthcare infrastructure including diagnostic capabilities. Global health organizations and governments are funding chronic disease research and diagnostics, thereby supporting the adoption of protein assay technologies in underserved regions. In remote and aging populations, there’s growing demand for portable, easy-to-use assay platforms that allow quick testing and immediate results, creating new opportunities for innovation in assay formats.

Increasing R&D Investment in Drug Discovery and Development

The rising global investment in research and development (R&D) particularly in drug discovery and biologics development is a key growth engine for the Global Protein Assays Market. As pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and academic institutions expand their R&D pipelines, the demand for accurate, high-throughput, and sensitive protein quantification tools is growing rapidly. In the initial stages of drug discovery, researchers rely heavily on protein assays to identify and validate biological targets and understand disease pathways. These assays are essential for screening protein interactions, expression levels, and functional activities. Protein assays help quantify the presence and behavior of disease-related proteins, aiding in the selection of viable drug targets. Assays are used to evaluate the effects of thousands of drug candidates on protein expression or function, especially in compound screening platforms. Precise protein quantification is critical in assessing how structural changes in molecules impact protein behavior, driving demand for robust and reproducible assay platforms.

Biologics including monoclonal antibodies, enzymes, and recombinant proteins represent one of the fastest-growing segments in the pharmaceutical market. These complex molecules require rigorous protein-level analysis during formulation, testing, and production, making protein assays indispensable. Developers use protein assays to assess purity, concentration, aggregation, and structural integrity of biologic drugs. Biosimilar manufacturers must demonstrate equivalence in protein expression and function to reference products, relying heavily on advanced protein assays. Regulatory agencies mandate strict analytical testing of biologics, leading to increased demand for validated assay kits and systems that comply with cGMP standards.

As drugs progress into clinical trials, regulatory bodies such as the FDA, EMA, and PMDA require comprehensive data on pharmacokinetics, immunogenicity, and biomarker responses. Protein assays are a foundational tool in meeting these requirements. Protein assays help measure key biomarkers that indicate efficacy, safety, or side effects of investigational drugs. Quantitative protein measurements enable researchers to adjust dosing based on therapeutic protein levels and patient response. Detailed protein assay data is essential for Investigational New Drug (IND) and Biologics License Application (BLA) submissions, leading to recurring purchases of validated assay reagents and systems.

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Key Market Challenges

High Cost of Advanced Assay Technologies and Instruments

The development and implementation of high-sensitivity and high-throughput protein assay platforms often involve significant capital investment. Sophisticated instruments, reagents, and software tools come at a premium, making them less accessible to smaller laboratories, academic institutions, and research facilities in emerging markets. Advanced platforms such as mass spectrometry-based assays or automated microfluidic systems are expensive to purchase, maintain, and calibrate. Specialized reagents, skilled personnel, and frequent quality checks add to recurring costs. In many research settings, especially in low- and middle-income regions, funding is insufficient to adopt these cutting-edge technologies.

This challenge creates a divide between large, well-funded facilities and smaller organizations, thereby slowing down widespread adoption and market penetration especially in cost-sensitive regions.

Lack of Standardization and Reproducibility in Results

Protein assays often face reproducibility challenges due to variability in assay design, sample preparation, and reagent quality. This lack of consistency hampers data reliability and undermines confidence in assay results, particularly in clinical and regulatory settings.

Different manufacturers offer assay kits with varying protocols and detection chemistries, making cross-study comparison difficult. Manual handling, pipetting errors, and improper reagent storage can lead to inconsistent results, especially in low-throughput environments. In clinical applications, a lack of assay standardization hinders regulatory approval and large-scale clinical adoption.

Inconsistent results affect assay validation, clinical decision-making, and data integrity, which in turn slow down product adoption in regulated markets such as diagnostics and therapeutic monitoring.

Key Market Trends

Rising Adoption of High-Throughput and Automated Protein Assay Technologies

As research intensity grows across pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and academic sectors, there is an increasing need for rapid, scalable, and reproducible protein quantification methods. High-throughput and automated assay platforms are emerging as essential tools for streamlining workflows, reducing manual errors, and enhancing productivity.

Pharmaceutical companies require large-scale protein screening in early-stage drug development and biomarker discovery. Automation allows for parallel processing of thousands of samples. High-throughput systems integrated with liquid handling robots and microplate readers minimize hands-on time and enable 24/7 lab operations. Automation ensures consistent assay performance across experiments, a critical factor in clinical trials and manufacturing quality control. Vendors offering high-throughput-compatible reagents, instruments, and kits are well-positioned to capture growing demand. This trend is also encouraging partnerships between assay developers and automation technology providers.

Expanding Role of Protein Assays in Personalized Medicine and Biomarker Research

The shift toward precision and personalized medicine is driving the need for more sophisticated protein-based diagnostic and prognostic tools. Protein assays are becoming essential in identifying disease-specific biomarkers and tailoring treatments to individual patients.

Protein biomarkers are critical in understanding disease progression, therapy response, and patient stratification particularly in oncology, neurology, and autoimmune disorders. The rise in targeted therapies is increasing demand for companion diagnostic assays to evaluate protein expression levels, such as HER2, MET, and PD-L1. Hospitals and diagnostic labs are investing in protein assay technologies for early disease detection and monitoring therapeutic outcomes. This trend is expanding the clinical utility of protein assays beyond traditional research applications, creating new growth opportunities in regulated and patient-facing environments.

Segmental Insights

Type Insights

Based on the category of Type, the Dye Binding Assays segment emerged as the fastest growing in the market for Protein Assays in 2024. Dye binding assays such as the Bradford, Coomassie Blue, and Fluorescent Dye-based methods are known for their high sensitivity and rapid response times. These assays provide accurate quantification of proteins even at low concentrations, making them ideal for applications where sample volume is limited or low-abundance proteins are being analyzed.

Compared to more complex or equipment-intensive methods, dye binding assays are relatively low-cost and user-friendly. They require fewer reagents and simpler protocols, making them accessible to a wide range of end users, including academic labs, biotech startups, and clinical research teams. The combination of affordability and simplicity has significantly boosted adoption across emerging markets and resource-limited research environments. Dye binding assays are extensively used in basic and applied research, including protein purification, enzyme kinetics, cell biology, and proteomics. Moreover, they are also gaining traction in clinical diagnostics and quality control testing in the biopharmaceutical industry. Their flexibility across multiple application areas is a major factor driving sustained demand. These factors contribute to the growth of this segment.

Product Insights

Based on the category of Product, the Reagents segment emerged as the fastest growing in the market for Protein Assays in 2024. Reagents are consumables that are required for every protein assay experiment, regardless of the platform or kit used. Unlike instruments or accessories, which represent one-time or infrequent capital expenditures, reagents are used continuously and must be replenished regularly. This high usage frequency ensures a steady and repeatable revenue stream, contributing significantly to market dominance.

Whether in dye-binding methods, copper-ion-based assays, or fluorescence-based techniques, reagents form the chemical backbone of protein detection and quantification. They include essential components such as dyes, buffers, co-factors, substrates, and enzymes. Their indispensable role in the functionality of both manual and automated protein assays reinforces their central position in the market. Reagents are widely used in a variety of sectors including academic research, pharmaceutical R&D, biotechnology, contract research organizations (CROs), and clinical diagnostics. Their versatility allows them to be integrated into multiple assay formats and platforms, such as colorimetric, fluorometric, or chemiluminescent assays. This broad applicability increases their demand across various end-user segments.

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Regional Insights

North America emerged as the largest market in the global Protein Assays market in 2024, holding the largest market share in terms of value. North America particularly the United States is home to a significant number of global pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and contract research organizations (CROs). These companies are major end-users of protein assays for drug discovery, biomarker identification, and clinical diagnostics. The high demand for advanced protein quantification methods across these industries consistently fuels market growth.

The region benefits from substantial public and private investment in life sciences research. Institutions such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other federal agencies in the U.S. allocate significant funding for research involving proteomics, molecular biology, and disease biomarker studies all of which rely heavily on protein assay technologies. This strong funding ecosystem accelerates innovation and supports widespread adoption of advanced assay platforms. North America leads in the development and commercialization of cutting-edge technologies in the protein assays market. Companies based in the region frequently introduce new assay kits, high-throughput screening platforms, and automation tools that enhance assay accuracy, sensitivity, and scalability. These innovations make protein analysis more efficient and cost-effective, increasing adoption across research and industrial applications.

Recent Developments

• In May 2025, Roche announced that the U.S. FDA has approved the VENTANA MET (SP44) RxDx Assay the first companion diagnostic designed to assess MET (c-Met) protein expression in patients with non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSQ-NSCLC). This approval enables eligible patients to be considered for treatment with Emrelis (telisotuzumab vedotin-tllv), AbbVie’s targeted therapy against c-Met.
• In September 2024, Partillion Bioscience, a spinout from the University of California, Los Angeles, is aiming to broaden its customer base through the introduction of an early-access program for its next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based assays designed to detect proteins secreted by cells.
• In June 2024, Sysmex Corporation has announced the upcoming launch of the HISCL™ VEGF Assay Kit for Research Use and the HISCL™ PEDF Assay Kit for Research Use in Japan, starting June 20, 2024. These reagents are designed to measure secreted proteins in cell culture media and are intended for use in research and cell manufacturing within the field of regenerative cellular medicine. The introduction of these assay kits is expected to enhance automation and improve the efficiency of quality control processes in the development of cellular therapeutics.
• In October 2023- Researchers at the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have discovered a novel role for the protein extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) in a cellular pathway activated by interferon-gamma. This pathway has the potential to initiate programmed cell death, offering new insights into mechanisms of cell regulation and potential therapeutic targets.

Key Market Players

• Becton Dickinson and Co
• Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.
• Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc
• Merck KGaA
• Abcam PLC
• PerkinElmer Inc.
• QIAGEN NV
• Lonza Group AG
• Bio-Techne Corp
• Illumina Inc

Report Scope:

In this report, the Global Protein Assays Market has been segmented into the following categories, in addition to the industry trends which have also been detailed below:

• Protein Assays Market, By Type:

o   Dye Binding Assays

o   Test Strip-Based Assays

o   Copper-Ion-Based Assays

o   Others

• Protein Assays Market, By Product:

o   Reagents

o   Kits

o   Instruments and Accessories

• Protein Assays Market, By Technology:

o   Colorimetric Protein Assays

o   Fluorescence-Based Protein Assays

o   Absorbance-Based Protein Assays

• Protein Assays Market, By Application:

o   Drug Discovery and Development

o   Disease Diagnosis

o   Others

• Protein Assays Market, By End User:

o   Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Companies

o   Clinical Laboratories

o   Hospitals

o   Academic Research Institutes

o   Others

• Protein Assays Market, By Region:

o   North America

§  United States

§  Canada

§  Mexico

o   Europe

§  France

§  United Kingdom

§  Italy

§  Germany

§  Spain

o   Asia-Pacific

§  China

§  India

§  Japan

§  Australia

§  South Korea

o   South America

§  Brazil

§  Argentina

§  Colombia

o   Middle East & Africa

§  South Africa

§  Saudi Arabia

§  UAE

Competitive Landscape

Company Profiles: Detailed analysis of the major companies present in the Global Protein Assays Market.

Available Customizations:

Global Protein Assays market report with the given market data, TechSci Research offers customizations according to a company's specific needs. The following customization options are available for the report:

Company Information

• Detailed analysis and profiling of additional market players (up to five).