Improving the quality of immunology research is the goal of Biocompare’s antibody survey, which was completed August 4, 2017. Conducted every other year since 2003, this biennial survey sent to Biocompare users in academia and industry (including principal investigators, staff scientists, post-docs, graduate students, research associates, and lab managers) seeks to gain a greater understanding of selection, validation, and purchasing habits. The resultant report uniquely identifies the trends and challenges associated with antibody usage through the voices of over 600 scientist stakeholders.

The $80 billion worldwide antibody industry is dominated by therapeutics and diagnostic use. Of this total, basic and preclinical researchers spent about $2.7 billion last year on antibodies, a number that is expected to reach $3 billion annually before the end of the decade.1,2

As the demand for antibodies increases, so too do the number of vendors offering them, as well as the number of choices on offer. In the early 1990s, about 50 companies supplied the market with about 13,000 antibodies. Today, over 100 suppliers supply the market with approximately 3 million antibodies.3 And while more than three-quarters of labs buy the majority of their research antibodies off-the-shelf, researchers also develop their own reagents in-house, receive them from other labs, and contract out to have them custom generated.

Driving purchasing decisions

Much like in the 2015 survey, this year’s survey found that specificity, citations, source reputation, data images, and product reviews drive product consideration. This year, however, colleague recommendations were increasingly important in driving purchasing decisions. And it is not surprising, considering everything at stake, that researchers placed higher value on brand awareness and technical content than on price and availability when making their purchasing decisions.

Figure 1. Key factors when deciding which antibody to purchase.

antibodies to purchase


Roughly one-third of respondents say they spend between $500 and $1000 per month on antibodies, but they expect to spend less in 2018. Almost 40% said that genetic (knockdown/knockout) methods were the most trustworthy types of formal validation, and just under one-half of respondents say that trial-sized product offers influence their purchasing habits.

Figure 2. Do trial-sized (smaller aliquots and reduced price) product offers influence your purchasing habits?

trial sized

Most common antibody applications

Western blotting remains the most used application for antibodies and the application that researchers are most likely to perform in the next 12 months. This is not surprising as this method of protein detection and identification is a common technique used in most laboratories. Methodologies such as fluorescence microscopy, immunohistochemistry (IHC), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and flow cytometry are all widely used by about one-half of the respondents.

Figure 3. Types of antibody-based applications currently used.

applications used

Most common antibody types

The most popular types of antibodies used were cell signaling/signal transduction, receptors, cytokines, chemokines, growth factors, and apoptosis/tumor suppressor, which makes sense when you consider the key areas of research identified in this year’s survey were cell biology, molecular biology, cell signaling, immunology, and translational research. Cancer research was the area of greatest interest, with over 34% of respondents working in that area. The second most popular area of therapeutic interest was neurodegenerative diseases.

In conclusion

These are just a handful of the insights revealed in Biocompare’s 2017 Antibody Survey. which contains extensive and invaluable information on the key factors that influence antibody validation, selection, and purchasing. The report will be released at the end of the month and details can be found here.

No matter the application or the area of therapeutic interest, antibodies are integral to life science research. It is essential that products offered meet researchers’ needs and that antibody vendors stay on top of customer requirements to ensure satisfaction. The in-depth information obtained from Biocompare’s 2017 survey combined with extensive antibody expertise inform this antibody market report and make it a definitive resource for all stakeholders in the complex antibody market.

References

1. Global Markets for Research Antibodies, bcc Research. January 2015, BII141A. (New release BIO141B, November 2017). https://www.bccresearch.com/market-research/biotechnology/research-antibodies-global-markets-report-bio141a.html

2. Pivotal Scientific. Report on the Research Antibody Market 2017. http://www.pivotalscientific.com/antibody-market-report

3. Biocompare data. www.biocompare.com. Compiled September 2017.