Cell Culture Media Market Research Report—Global Forecast till 2032

Impact of COVID-19 on the Cell Culture Media Market

Cell culture media finds its usage in various applications such as research and therapeutics. It is an important role in research as it can be used to study functions, metabolic regulations, and cell physiology of various organisms. In addition, they are also used for purposes such as vaccine production, genetic engineering drug screening as well as toxicity testing, and prenatal diagnosis among others.

Countries and various industries are trying to deal with the challenges thrown up by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), and one such industry of concern has been the uncertainty surrounding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global cell culture media market. Considering that the global spread of COVID-19 has dramatically increased the number of suspected cases and the geographic area where laboratory testing needed to be implemented, intensified. COVID-19 situation has led to shortages of cell culture media and reagents globally. Beyond supply issues, there are significant limitations of absorption capacity in many regions, especially in low- and middle-income countries.

Testing remains a crucial step to control the rapid spread of the virus. And these testing involves the usage of cell culture media and assays that help to understand the presence of the virus in one’s body.  With an increasing number of cases, governments across the world are exploring the opportunities of allowing private laboratories to ramp up testing. The wide availability of diagnostics will be required for the immediate detection of COVID-19 cases. World Health Organization (WHO) developed testing strategy recommendations, as part of the Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan. The foundation of this strategy includes:

• Testing in areas with community transmission and in settings where testing capacity cannot meet needs must be prioritized. It should focus on the early detection and protection of vulnerable patients and health care workers.

• Focused testing in health care facilities ensures that infection prevention and control measures can be correctly implemented such that vulnerable patients who do not have COVID are protected from nosocomial COVID-19 infection.


• Testing among vulnerable populations and risk groups will be important for early treatment to minimize progression to severe disease.

Total Covid-19 Diagnostic Tests Performed by Country as of March 20, 2020

Initiatives and Support by Government:

• Australia issued an exemption for devices involved in the diagnosis, confirmatory testing, prevention, monitoring, treatment, or alleviation of COVID-19.

• On 4th Feb 2020, the Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) issued a new policy to accelerate the availability of diagnostics. A public health emergency was determined, justifying the authorization of emergency use of in-vitro diagnostics (IVDs) for the diagnosis of COVID-19.

• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved 20 manufacturers and kits for diagnostic testing for COVID-19. For instance, on Mar. 12, 2020, Roche Diagnostics received the EUA (Emergency Use Authorization) for its novel coronavirus diagnostic test, Cobas SARS-CoV-2 Test from the US FDA, which will be soon made available in India.

• In India, The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has approved 176 labs, including 47 private labs, to conduct the tests.

These new policies by various governments in improving the diagnostic and testing process will eventually lead to growth in the cell culture media market as they are important components in the testing of viruses.

Assays, and reagents are an important aspect of diagnostics tests for COVID-19.  Hence, the cell culture media industry needs to keep up with demand, despite suppliers’ factories shutting down production, reduced factory working hours, limited workforce, and often, the shutdown of research and development. It is certainly a challenge to bring innovative new products to the market during these times. However, a quality diagnosis which provides faster and accurate test results is the need of the hour.

Source-World Data and MRFR Analysis