Description

RNA isolation/purification is a critical step in the preparation of biological samples for use in a multitude of downstream applications including real-time quantitative PCR, reverse transcription PCR, microarrays, Northern blot analysis, nuclease protection assays, RNA mapping, in vitro translation and cDNA library construction. The need for purified RNA in so many experiments across several scientific disciplines has quickly made RNA purification an indispensable tool for both academic and industrial scientists, and as such, a large market of RNA purification products - including both commercial kits and reagents - has developed. One significant challenge facing the field of RNA purification is the difficulty of extracting RNA from different types of cells and tissues; a related challenge is sample scarcity, especially in a clinical setting. The heterogeneity of RNA attributes across different organisms and cell types adds additional complexity for suppliers - forcing them to design a range of sample-dependent offerings. In such a product landscape of kits and reagents applicable only to specific organisms, cell and/or tissue types, suppliers find themselves competing for share across a very fractured user base. As a result of these and other challenges, product offerings for RNA purification face performance mandates around yield and sample stability. To gain a better understanding of the RNA purification techniques currently used, The RNA Purification Market: Evaluating Competitive Dynamics & Establishing Benchmarks provides suppliers with insights into the types of products required to support this work. Based on a 34-question survey of 813 scientists who currently purify RNA, this report benchmarks the current market by comprehensively reflecting researchers' experimental parameters and uses for purified RNA, current and future levels of sample throughput and the particular purification methods employed. In addition, it provides a closer look at two directions in which the RNA purification market could be moving-outsourcing samples for purification and the use of robotics for high throughput purification. Many scientists do not use commercial kits and reagents, and instead rely on homebrew methods. Understanding this segment of the market - including trends in experimental design and throughput, as well as articulated reasons for using homebrew reagents - is vital for suppliers trying to convert these scientists into customers of commercial purification products. This report also examines the competitive dynamics of the RNA purification marketplace-from the perspectives of both the reagent suppliers and the kit suppliers. Respondents reveal the supplier attributes that are of the greatest importance and detail areas where suppliers presently perform above or below expectations. The analysis goes beyond merely presenting a composite view of the overall marketplace-it assesses less tangible, but critically important elements of customer value for the leading suppliers of RNA purification kits and reagents, including behavioral measurements (such as customer retention) and attitudinal measurements (such as overall customer experience, intent to re-purchase and willingness to recommend). By utilizing this report to understand the actual experiences, needs and preferences of researchers, RNA purification kit and reagent suppliers will be better positioned to refine existing tools to appeal to the diverse needs of their target market as well as to convert homebrew users to commercial purification products. A combination of in-depth market insights, enhancements and innovations will extend the use of commercial RNA purification products into additional laboratories. Report Highlights The RNA Purification Market: Evaluating Competitive Dynamics & Establishing Benchmarks contains over 70 charts and/or tables and more than 20 cross-tabulations for the 34 survey questions. Below is a glimpse of the key findings derived from just a few of the survey questions: • RNA is most often purified in order to perform reverse transcription PCR (67%) or quantitative real-time PCR (56%). • Scientists report that over a quarter of all RNA samples are purified from established cell lines. • The largest number of scientists (30%) purify RNA from between 20 and 49 biological samples per month. • According to respondents, Invitrogen and Sigma-Aldrich are the leading suppliers of commercially available phenol/GITC reagents. • Qiagen is the most frequently cited supplier of RNA purification kits, followed by Ambion. • 41% of scientists using homebrew reagents for RNA purification cited the number one reason for doing so was price.

Table of Contents

Section 1. Analysis and Interpretation of Survey Results Executive Summary 1-1 Introduction and Key Findings 1-2 Study Objectives Market Profile: Uses and Applications of Purified RNA 1-4 Types of RNA 1-5 Applications Experimental Design Parameters 1-7 Sample Source 1-8 Sample Size and Yield 1-9 Throughput 1-11 Research Focus Market Dynamics: Users of Commercial Kits 1-13 RNA Purification Approaches 1-15 Preferred Suppliers 1-16 Product Performance Attributes 1-18 Understanding Customer Loyalty 1-19 Measuring Satisfaction and Loyalty Market Dynamics: Users of Commercial Reagents 1-21 Preferred Suppliers 1-22 Product Performance Attributes 1-24 Understanding Customer Loyalty 1-25 Measuring Satisfaction and Loyalty Market Dynamics: Users of Homebrew 1-27 Product Performance Attributes 1-28 Factors Driving Homebrew Use Future Directions in the RNA Purification Market 1-30 High Throughput Robotics 1-31 Outsourcing Sample Purification Conclusion Section 2. Study Methodology and Demographics 2-1 Methodology 2-5 Definition of Terms 2-7 Demographics 2-8 Questionnaire Section 3. Presentation of Survey Data Usage and Applications 3-1 Use of RNA purification 3-3 Types of RNA purified/isolated for analysis 3-4 Applications for which purified RNA is used 3-5 Sources from which RNA is purified 3-6 Age of typical RNA sample purified from formalin-fixed, paraffin embedded tissue 3-7 Percentage of RNA samples purified from specific sources 3-8 Methods used to purify RNA 3-9 Methods used for cell/tissue disruption in RNA purification 3-12 Formats used for purifying RNA 3-13 Methods used to assess the quality of RNA 3-14 Minimum acceptable quality of RNA for use in downstream applications 3-17 Methods used to store purified RNA 3-18 Average number of different downstream applications for which each unique sample of RNA is utilized RNA Purification Samples 3-19 Number of biological samples from which RNA is purified at one time 3-20 Number of biological samples from which RNA is purified per month 3-21 Expectation for the number of samples purified per month to change over the next twelve months 3-23 Amount of starting sample 3-26 Typical yield of total RNA 3-29 Percentage of samples purified using specific methods 3-30 Primary suppliers for both RNA purification kits and reagents RNA Purification Kits and Reagents 3-34 Satisfaction with specific features of RNA purification kits/reagents from primary suppliers 3-36 Overall satisfaction with RNA purification kits/reagents from primary suppliers 3-37 Price paid per sample when purifying RNA using kits/reagents from primary suppliers Supplier Performance 3-38 Reasons for using homebrew reagents for RNA purification 3-39 Length of time purchasing RNA purification kits/reagents from primary supplier 3-40 Opinion of primary supplier 3-41 Change in opinion of primary supplier during period of using their products 3-42 Likelihood to repurchase RNA purification kits/reagents from primary supplier 3-43 Likelihood to purchase other products from primary supplier Future Directions 3-44 Use of robotic RNA purification system 3-46 Outsourcing samples for RNA purification 3-47 Supplier used for outsourced RNA purification samples Section 4. Appendices 4-1 Insights and Perspectives 4-17 Cross-Tabulations of Survey Data 4-69 Other Recent Publications 4-71 About BioInformatics 4-72 Our Valued Clients