Demand for AI-integration propelling mass spectrometry growth

The mass spectrometry market is expected to to worth around $10 billion by 2030, with a key driver for the growth predicted to be the pharmaceutical industry’s increasing adoption of AI-integrated mass spectrometers.

That’s according to new research by MarkNtel Advisors, who foresee additional advances in mass spectrometry imaging (MSI), high-resolution MS (HRMS), and miniaturised portable MS devices.

Furthermore, testing for rapidly evolving contaminants, such as PFAS, nitrosamines, and microplastics, has positioned mass spectrometry as a vital tool for compliance and research, the authors stated.

For instance, with LC-MS and hybrid spectrometers essential for nitrosamine impurity testing and compliance with FDA and EMA regulations, there is greater demand for pharmaceutical companies to adopt mass spectrometers, they said.

To support industry compliance, on 1 December 2024, the US Pharmacopeia (USP) launched a new General Chapter <1132.1> Residual Host Cell Protein Measurement in Biopharmaceuticals by Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry.

North America holds a leading 38 percent share in the market, giving it major influence its expansion. Key companies based in this region include Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Merck in the US and Canada’s Apotex, the report highlighted.  

What are the current obstacles hindering growth of the mass spectrometry market?

However, two key challenges limiting the industry’s use of mass spectrometry are high operational costs and a skills shortage in the workforce. Specialist knowledge of “sample preparation, method development, and troubleshooting” is required, hindering broad adoption of the technology. For instance, “with only four researchers per 10,000 workers in India and a projected 65,000 bio-economy professionals needed in Canada by 2029, the talent gap could slow adoption”, the authors asserted.

Looking ahead, while the mass spectrometry market valued approximately $6 billion in 2024, it is forecast to expand at a CAGR of around seven percent over the next five years.