Synthetic siRNA market shows significant growth potential

ARLINGTON, Va.—A new report from BioInformatics, LLC, Optimizing Synthetic RNAi: Perspectives from the Pharmaceutical & Biotech Industry, finds that while the use of synthetic siRNA is still relatively new, the industrial market segment will continue strong growth over the near term. Among current industrial users of siRNA, an overall growth rate of 9 percent is projected for the next twelve months. In addition, about one-third of survey respondents indicate that they do not now conduct RNAi experiments but plan to do so in the upcoming months, implying further market growth potential.

"Clearly, synthetic siRNA is a vital tool in facilitating pharmaceutical and biotech research," says Dr. Tamara Zemlo, director of syndicated research at BioInformatics. "Of the survey respondents, only 6 percent do not use and have no plans to use synthetic siRNA. The extent of RNAi's appeal is also striking. The report features the opinions of researchers from almost 90 different companies."

The report presents synthetic siRNA brand share based on usage rates and relative expenditure. This data are expected to help suppliers understand their position in what is essentially a two-tier market, as the top four suppliers command more than 75 percent of the industrial market's brand share. For these synthetic siRNA providers, the report features their Net Promoter Score (NPS) rankings, an important measure of "active" brand loyalty.

"Strikingly, we found that the majority of respondents would not recommend their preferred supplier," Zemlo notes. "This ties directly to respondents' willingness to consider switching their supplier of synthetic siRNA. Almost all respondents stated that they could be convinced to try another supplier's product—if the product performed exceptionally on an attribute deemed important to the scientist. Since approximately half of respondents use only one supplier, successfully encouraging researchers to switch suppliers would greatly affect siRNA market share."

Results presented in this study focus on brand health of the top suppliers based on product promotion, product attractiveness, product price, product placement and supplier customer service and technical support. According to BioInformatics, service, performance and product availability seem to distinguish the market leader—Dharmacon—from its closest competitors: Invitrogen, Qiagen and Ambion. Behind the leaders are a number of suppliers, including Proligo, Integrated DNA Technologies, MWG Biotech, Bioneer, OligoEngine and B-Bridge.