Exploring the Microbiology Market

As you probably know, BioInformatics, LLC is co-sponsor of the prestigious Life Science Industry Awards and we are proud to be hosting the 2008 awards gala along with our partners at The Scientist magazine concurrent with the 108th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) in Boston from June 1 to 5. Our research has repeatedly shown that scientists consider this meeting to be one of the top three “must attend” conferences of the year. We hope that your company will also be in Boston to learn about the exciting developments that are transforming the microbiology market. If so, please join us for a very special celebration of our industry’s accomplishments at the Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel on June 3 at 5 PM. To reserve your tickets, please visit our web site at Life Science Industry Awards.

We also invite you to download, Today’s Microbiology Market: A Growing Opportunity for Life Science Suppliers. The report is intended to help your company begin to understand this diverse and dynamic market. The benchmark data contained in the report can help you spot opportunities and where you will need to develop a deeper understanding of how microbiologists are adapting your products for their unique applications.

Culturing, plate counting and light microscopy represent the hallmarks of microbiology. As such, this original toolset has been remarkably useful for more than 100 years, and for many applications, it remains sufficient and appropriate. However, due to innovations pioneered by the life science industry, the past couple of decades has been marked by the introduction of a number of technological advancements in imaging technologies and the development of culture-independent methods such as in situ hybridization and PCR. Progress in these and other areas has markedly advanced the ability of microbiologists to resolve the features and activities of individual microbial cells.

The field of microbiology has traditionally focused on how cells interact with one another, respond and/or alter their environment, and undergo complex processes such as cellular differentiation or gene expression. New appreciation for understanding the various components that contribute to cellular heterogeneity has led to the adoption and adaptation of new tools and techniques utilized in other life science disciplines to microbiology. Although the results of this survey confirm the use of genomic and proteomic technologies by microbiologists, some suppliers seem not to fully appreciate the opportunities this market presents.

Life science suppliers need to engage with the microbiology community as a whole to get a sense of the exciting applications that represent lucrative business opportunities. Infectious disease research, clinical testing, environmental monitoring, biodefense, bioremediation, food testing and pharmaceutical manufacturing are just a few of the market segments where microbiologists are adopting new technologies to achieve more accurate and rapid results.

Merely relying on the ingenuity of microbiologists to find new applications for existing products is not a strategy for success. Life science suppliers must proactively shape the market for modern microbiology tools in order to dominate this growth market in the future.