Automated Liquid Handling Systems Market: Distribution by Pipetting Technology, Washing Technology, Modality, Type of Instrument, Application, End User and Key Geographical Regions: Industry Trends and Global Forecasts, 2023-2035

The global market size of automated liquid handling systems is estimated to be around USD 2.82 billion in 2023 and expected to grow at compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 7.4%, during the forecast period, 2023-2035. It is a well-known fact that innovation in the life science industry is primarily driven by advanced technologies that possess the tendency to maximize assay throughput and frequency. Owing to the growing demand for complex biopharmaceuticals, there has been an increase in the number of laboratories providing analytical and product development solutions, across the globe. During each step of a laboratory process, it is essential to ensure that all the variables and parameters are under control. Liquid handling, which involves transferring a liquid from one location to another for testing purposes, is considered to be an important step in bioprocess. However, the traditional approaches being employed for liquid handling, including manual handling techniques often increase the risk of process errors and decrease flexibility due to the exorbitant costs associated with the requirement of human resources 24/7.

Additionally, there are several environmental and process variables that might influence or hinder appropriate liquid handling, affecting the integrity of the solution under process. Thus, it is critical to maintain asepsis throughout liquid handling in order to ensure that the integrity of the solution is not compromised. As a result, automated liquid handler has emerged to be the most suitable alternative, owing to its ability to overcome the issues associated with manual handling. Automated liquid handling instruments have diverse applications across clinical research laboratories and universities, as automated liquid handling systems can dispense liquid volumes (in nanoliters) with high precision and accuracy. Driven by the rising interest of stakeholders towards technological advancements and adoption of automated liquid handling systems, we believe that the overall automated liquid handling market is likely to witness significant growth, during the forecast period.

Key Market Insights

The Automated Liquid Handling Systems Market - Focus on Automated Pipetting Systems and Automated Microplate Washers, 2023-2035: Distribution by Pipetting Technology (Contact Technology, Air Displacement Technology, Piston / Positive Displacement Technology, Acoustic Technology and Free-jet Technology), Washing Technology (Ultrasonic Technology, Acoustic Technology and Centrifugal Technology), Modality (Fixed Tips, Disposable Tips), Type of Instrument (Standalone, Individual Benchtop Workstation, Multi Instrument Systems and Others), Application (Serial Dilution, Plate Replication, PCR / qPCR Setup, Plate Reformatting, High-throughput Screening, Whole Genome Amplification, Cell Culture, Cell-based Assays, Bead Washing and Other Applications), End User (Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Companies, Academic and Government Research Institutes, Hospitals and Diagnostic Centers and Other End Users) and Key Geographical Regions (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East and North Africa, and Latin America): Industry Trends and Global Forecasts report features an extensive study of the current market landscape, market size and future potential of the liquid handling automation systems market, over the forecast period. It highlights the efforts of various stakeholders engaged in this rapidly emerging segment of the process equipment industry. Key takeaways of the automated liquid handling systems market are briefly discussed below.

Benefits and Growing Demand for Lab Automation

Lab automation refers to the use of any equipment or device to execute tasks in the lab with little or no hands-on engagement from professionals. It is one of the rapidly emerging concepts that involves integration of automated technologies into laboratories to enhance operations, such as pipetting and data analysis, that are involved in various day-to-day laboratory practices. Lab automation devices, such as automated liquid handling instruments offer several advantages, including ease of sample preparation, enhanced accuracy and reproducibility, and minimal requirement of manual labor.

Benefits and Growing Demand for Automated Liquid Handling Systems

Automated liquid handling instruments are used for dispensing and sampling liquids in tubes or wells. Automated liquid handling has improved laboratory processes, including next generation sequencing workflow by increasing sample preparation throughput, reliability, and quality, thereby improving the overall sequencing outcomes. Primarily, there are two types of liquid handling automation systems - automated pipetting systems and automated microplate washers; both types of equipment offer accurate sample preparation for various bioassays, high-throughput screening and sequencing (HTC), next generation sequencing, liquid or powder weighing and storage of large samples. Since the guidelines for pharmaceutical liquid handling are constantly evolving, the need for liquid handling automation systems is also growing. Further, the ability of automated liquid handling systems to handle small amounts of liquid more efficiently and the growing demand for miniaturization are likely to be the key growth drivers in the automated liquid handling industry.

Current Market Landscape of the Automated Liquid Handling Systems

The automated liquid handling systems market is one of the most promising sectors within the healthcare industry. Currently, more than 130 automated liquid handler developers claim to provide over 150 automated pipetting systems and over 105 automated microplate washers. Notably, around 30% of such automated pipetting systems are based on air displacement technology, which enables dispensing small volumes of aqueous and non-viscous liquids in laboratories with high accuracy. One such automated liquid handling platform, based on air displacement technology, was launched by the UK based SPT Labtech at the Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening (SLAS) 2022 International Conference and Expo in February 2022. The firefly system has been specifically built for next generation sequencing library preparation. Another automated liquid handler, Biomek NGeniusS, developed by Beckman Coulter for NGS library preparation was launched at the same expo.

Global Automated Liquid Handling Systems Market Size

Driven by enhanced productivity and improved timelines, lucrative opportunities are expected to emerge for players providing automated liquid handling systems, including automated pipetting systems and microplate washers. The global automated liquid handling systems market is anticipated to grow at a significant pace, with a CAGR of around 7.4%, during the forecast period 2023-2035. In terms of pipetting technology, the piston / positive displacement technology is likely to be adopted across majority of the automated pipette systems as positive-displacement pipettes boost precision and reproducibility by bringing the liquid into direct contact with the piston built into the capillary.

North America Holds the Largest Share of the Automated Liquid Handling Systems Market

In terms of geography, North America captures the largest market share (>40%) in 2023, as anticipated in the market report. This can be attributed to the fact that approximately 1/3rd of life science research is conducted in the US and Canada, along with steady flow of investments for developed infrastructure. Further, these countries have supported numerous lab automation-related efforts. Unlike the developing countries, North America has higher rate of adoption for lab automation technologies. Based on the above mentioned factors, the market in North America is expected to grow at a significant CAGR, during the forecast period. However, the automated liquid handling technology market in Asia-Pacific is likely to grow at a relatively faster pace in the long term.

Key Trends Analysis: Partnerships, Collaborations and Patents in the Automated Liquid Handling System Market

In recent years, several partnerships have been inked by the stakeholders in order to consolidate their presence in this field and enhance their capabilities and product portfolio to meet the growing demand for automated liquid handling systems. Acquisitions, product distribution agreements and product commercialization agreements are the most common types of partnerships inked by stakeholders in the automated liquid handling systems industry. Recently, in November 2022, US-based Hamilton Robotics acquired BioFluidiX to enhance its product portfolio. The former company already has a portfolio of automated liquid handling workstations and this acquisition provides Hamilton Robotics with the patented liquid handling technology that can be used for managing small volume ranges in nanoliter and picoliters.

About 500 patents focused on automated liquid handling systems have been granted / filed in the past six years, indicating the substantial efforts made by researchers engaged in this industry. Primarily, most of the patents have been filed to advance research on various components of automated liquid handling systems, such as devices, dispensers, robots and well plates.

Automated Pipetting Systems are Evolving to Meet the Growing Demand

Automated pipetting systems capture the largest share in the automated liquid handling systems market. It is interesting to highlight that, in 2022, SPT Labtech launched a compact, 4-in-1 automated liquid handling system, apricot DC1. This product has streamlined and automated the regular manual pipetting activities, including mixing, pooling, aliquoting, and preparing liquids for serial dilution. Further, Bio Molecular Systems launched Myra, the first liquid handling system with an integrated camera, ensuring precision in sampling systems. Such technological developments are likely to continue to support the market growth.

Centrifugal Force Technology will Continue to Dominate the Automated Microplate Washer Market

Automated liquid handling systems have seen increased adoption not only across the pharma and biotech laboratories, but also across academic research laboratories. Centrifugal force technology is anticipated to capture the largest share of the automated microplate washers market, as it reduces the possibility of carryover and cross contamination by removing liquids from well plates in seconds. Examples of the companies, actively using this technology in their automated microplate washers include (in alphabetical order) BIOBASE, BlueCatBio, Cytena and Rayto Life and Analytical Sciences.

Key Companies in the Automated Liquid Handling Technology Market

Examples of the key players in this industry providing automated pipetting systems or microplate washers (the complete list of players is available in the full report) include (in alphabetic order) Agilent Technologies, Beckman Coulter Life Sciences, Eppendorf, Hamilton Robotics, MyGenostics, Tecan and Thermo Fisher Scientific.

Scope of the Report

The market report presents an in-depth analysis of the various firms / organizations that are engaged in this industry, across different segments.

The research report presents an in-depth analysis, highlighting the capabilities of various stakeholders engaged in the market, across different geographies. Amongst other elements, the report includes:

• An executive summary of the insights captured during our research, offering a high-level view on the current state of automated liquid handling systems market and its likely evolution in the mid-to-long term.
• A general overview of liquid handling systems, along with comparison between manual, semi-automated and automated liquid handling systems. It also presents information on automated pipetting systems, their working mechanism, advantages and types of automated pipetting systems, including tip-based and non-tip based pipetting systems. In addition, the chapter provides details on automated microplate washers, along with features of an ideal automated microplate washer. Further, the chapter concludes with a discussion on the applications of automated liquid handling systems, challenges in their adoption and future prospects within this domain.
• A detailed assessment of the current market landscape of automated pipetting systems, based on several relevant parameters, such as the pipetting technology (air displacement, acoustic, piston / positive displacement, contact and free-jet), certification(s), type of instrument(s) by assembly (integrated workstations and stand-alone workstations), pipetting head option(s) (multichannel and single channel), weight of automated pipetting system (in kg) (<50 kg, 50 kg-100 kg and >100 kg), compatible labware (96/384 well plates, liquid reservoirs, 1,536 well plates, 6/24/48 well plates, PCR plates, microcentrifuge tubes, PCR tubes, 3,456 well plates and others), application area(s) (molecular biology, clinical diagnostics, drug discovery, microbiology and others), application(s) (PCR / qPCR setup, High-throughput workflow, serial dilution, NGS library preparation, research use, genomics / gene synthesis, cell-based assays, cell culture, ELISA and proteomics), additional feature(s) (barcode identification, robotic arm, automated tip loading / unloading and camera) and end user(s) (biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, hospitals and diagnostic centers, and academic and government research institutes). In addition to this, the chapter features information on automated pipetting system providers, along with a detailed analysis based on their year of establishment, company size (in terms of employee count) and location of headquarters (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of the World).
• A detailed competitiveness analysis of automated pipetting system providers based on several relevant parameters, such as company strength (in terms of number of years since it was established), product diversity (in terms of number of liquid handling tasks, weight of automated pipetting systems, applications, end users and application areas) and product strength (in terms of type of instruments by assembly, type of instrument by sophistication, additional features and compatible labware).
• Elaborate profiles of key companies (shortlisted based on a proprietary criterion) engaged in the manufacturing of automated pipetting systems across North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific and rest of the World. Each profile features a brief overview of the company, its financial information (if available), details on its product portfolio, recent developments and an informed future outlook.
• A detailed assessment of the current market landscape of automated microplate washers, based on several relevant parameters, such as type of instrument(s) by assembly (stand-alone and integrated workstations), compatible microplate(s) (flat, U, V and C bottom), weight of automated microplate washers (in Kg) (<10 Kg, 10-20 Kg, >20 Kg), compatible labware (24, 48, 96, 384, 1,536 well plates and 96 / 384 deep well plates), application area(s) (molecular biology, drug discovery, clinical diagnostics, microbiology and others), application(s) (ELISA, cell-based assays, bead washing and others) and end user(s) (biotechnology and pharmaceutical, academics and government research institutes and hospitals and diagnostics centers). In addition to this, the chapter features information on automated microplate washer providers, along with a detailed analysis based on their year of establishment, company size (in terms of employee count) and location of headquarters (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of the World).
• A detailed competitiveness analysis of automated microplate washer providers based on several relevant parameters, such as company strength (in terms of number of years since it was established), product diversity (in terms of weight of automated microplate washers, residual volume (in µL / well), additional features, application areas, applications and end users) and product strength (in terms of type of instruments by assembly, compatible microplates and compatible labware).
• Elaborate profiles of key companies (shortlisted based on a proprietary criterion) engaged in the manufacturing of automated microplate washers across North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific and Rest of the World. Each profile features a brief overview of the company, its financial information (if available), details on its product portfolio, recent developments and an informed future outlook.
• A detailed analysis of partnerships inked between stakeholders engaged in this industry since 2018, based on several relevant parameters, such as year of partnership, type of partnership, type of automated liquid handling system, geography, most popular products and most active players (in terms of number of partnerships).
• An in-depth analysis of various patents that have been filed / granted related to automated liquid handling systems since 2018, taking into consideration several relevant parameters, such as patent publication year, type of patent, patent jurisdiction, CPC symbols, type of applicant, emerging focus areas and leading players and individual assignees (in terms of number of patents filled / granted). It also features a detailed patent benchmarking analysis and an insightful valuation analysis, highlighting the leading patents (in terms of number of citations).
• A detailed discussion on affiliated trends, key drivers and challenges, under a SWOT framework, which are likely to impact the industry’s evolution, along with a Harvey ball analysis.

One of the key objectives of the market report was to evaluate the current opportunity and future growth potential associated with the automated liquid handling systems market, over the coming years. We have provided informed estimates on the likely evolution of the market in the mid-to-long term, during the forecast period 2023-2035. Our year-wise projections of the current and future opportunity have been further segmented based on relevant parameters, such as pipetting technology (contact technology, air displacement technology, piston / positive displacement technology, acoustic technology and free-jet technology), washing technology (ultrasonic technology, acoustic technology and centrifugal technology), modality (fixed tips, disposable tips), type of instrument (standalone, individual benchtop workstation, multi instrument systems and others), application (serial dilution, plate replication, PCR / qPCR setup, plate reformatting, high-throughput screening, whole genome amplification, cell culture, cell-based assays, bead washing and other applications), end user (biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, academic and government research institutes, hospitals and diagnostic centers and other end users) and key geographical regions (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East and North Africa, and Latin America). In order to account for future uncertainties associated with some of the key parameters and to add robustness to our model, we have provided three market forecast scenarios, namely conservative, base and optimistic scenarios, representing different tracks of the industry’s evolution.

All actual figures have been sourced and analyzed from publicly available information forums and primary research discussions. Financial figures mentioned in this report are in USD, unless otherwise specified.

Frequently Asked Questions

Question 1: What are examples of automated liquid handling systems?

Answer: Some examples of automated pipetting systems include apricot DC1 (SPT Labtech), CV 2000 Liquid Handling System (Thermo Fisher Scientific), Myra (Bio Molecular Systems) and Freedom EVO 100 (Tecan). In addition, examples of automated microplate washers that can be utilized as both, stand-alone and integrated workstations include BioTek™ (Agilent), ELx405™ Select (Agilent), Blue®Washer XL (BlueCatBio), Wellwash™ (Thermo Fisher Scientific) and Wellwash™ Versa (Thermo Fisher Scientific).

Question 2: What are the advantages offered by automated liquid handling systems over manual handling systems?

Answer: An automated liquid handling system offers many advantages over manual liquid handling, including higher throughput, protection from hazardous / infectious samples, and a lower risk of repetitive stress injuries to humans.

Question 3: How do liquid handling robots work?

Answer: A liquid handling robot is managed by a controlling robot. To ensure sample safety, the washing station cleans dispensing heads. Then, the liquid is dispensed onto the sample via dispensing heads. The sensors monitor the status of the dispensing portion, allowing the control center to provide feedback, if necessary.

Question 4: How much does a liquid handling robot, including automated pipetting system and automated microplate washer, cost?

Answer: The average cost of an automated pipetting system and automated microplate washer is around USD 26,000 and USD 17,000, respectively.

Question 5: How big is the liquid handling automation market?

Answer: Presently, more than 130 companies are actively engaged in providing various automated liquid handlings systems and automated microplate washers.

Question 6: Which are the top players in the automated liquid handling systems market?

Answer: Examples of top players engaged in this industry (which have also been captured in this report) include (in alphabetical order) include Agilent Technologies, Beckman Coulter Life Sciences, Eppendorf, Hamilton Robotics, MyGenostics, Tecan and Thermo Fisher Scientific.

Question 7: What is the market size of automated liquid handling systems?

Answer: The current global automated liquid handling systems market size is estimated to be around USD 2.82 billion.

Question 8: What is the expected market growth rate of automated liquid handling systems market?

Answer: The global automated liquid handling systems market is expected to grow at an annualized rate of about 7.5%, during the period 2023-2035.

Question 9: What is the market share of automated pipetting systems?

Answer: At present, automated pipetting systems capture the largest share (around 40%) in the lab automation market.

Question 10: Which region is likely to hold the largest share in the automated liquid handling systems market?

Answer: Currently, North America captures the largest market share (>40%). However, the market in Asia-Pacific is likely to grow at a relatively faster pace in the long term.

Question 11: What are the factors that drive the automated liquid handling systems market growth?

Answer: The key factors driving the market growth of the liquid handling technology market include an increase in R&D and funding activities, a rise in the demand for high output screening, and adoption of automation in clinical settings.