Molecular Diagnostics-The Future Of Healthcare In India

Molecular diagnostics is a field of laboratory medicine that uses molecular biology techniques to diagnose diseases, predict disease progression, guide treatment decisions, and monitor therapy effectiveness. It involves analysing biological molecules like DNA, RNA, and proteins to identify disease-related markers and understand how cells express their genes. This field is crucial in various specialties, including infectious disease, oncology, genetics, and helps in personalized medicine approaches.

Recent revolutionary progress in human genomics is reshaping the approach to therapy and diagnosis. Nucleic acid–based testing is becoming a crucial diagnostic tool not only in the setting of inherited genetic disease but in a wide variety of neoplastic and infectious processes. Following diagnosis, molecular testing can help guide appropriate therapy by identifying specific therapeutic targets of several newly tailored drugs, thus pharmacogenomics. Molecular diagnostics provides the necessary underpinnings for any successful application of gene therapy or biologic response modifiers. It offers a great tool for assessing disease prognosis and therapy response and detecting minimal residual disease.

Polymerase Chain Reaction & Real time PCR are most commonly & frequently used techniques in Molecular Diagnostics.  The development of “real-time” PCR (Q-PCR) added great advantages to traditional PCR. As the name indicates, this technique allows for the real-time quantitation of PCR product following each of the 40 amplification cycles. The computerized Q-PCR instrument measures after each cycle the amount of fluorescence emitted from a dye intercalated in the double-helix DNA product; the amount of fluorescence is proportional to the number of copies of the amplification target. This technology permits faster, precise estimations for large batch of samples simultaneously.

The Other technologies prevalent in use includes Fluorescent in situ Hybridisation (FISH), Spectral Karyotype Imaging, DNA Microarrays, Nucleic Acid Amplification Technology (NAAT), Isothermal NAAT as well as New Generation Sequencing (NGS).

The Indian molecular diagnostics market is experiencing rapid growth. The market is expected to reach US$ 2.7 billion by 2033, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.7% from 2025-2033. The market growth is fuelled by increasing disease prevalence, technological advancements, and a greater focus on personalized medicine. Moreover, growing awareness, Government initiative and the benefits of POCT Testing in Molecular Diagnostics are amongst the major supportive factors that play key role in development of Molecular Diagnostic business in India.

With few manageable challenges like current high-test cost & reimbursement issues, the opportunities in this business vertical of IVD are ample like Innovation in POCT, expansion in rural areas and data analysis as well as interpretation of test results.

Needles to say; Molecular Diagnostic will be the rising best interstellar of Indian IVD business in coming years.