Drug Abuse Testing Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2021 - 2026)

The drug abuse testing market is expected to register a CAGR of 7.5% over the forecast period 2021-2026.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the drug abuse testing market is expected to be significant. According to the research article published in Frontiers in Psychiatry, 2020, forced isolation and quarantine during COVID-19 can impact the behavior of drug abusers. Also, due to the stringent lockdown measures and social distancing to combat the coronavirus spread, an increase in alcohol and drug abuse is expected, which could further lead to isolated overdosing and pose a striking challenge for drug addicts. Additionally, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2021, an individual with substance use disorder is expected to be severely ill, if infected with the SARS-CoV2 virus. However, as per the research article published in Population Health Management, 2021, a significant decrease in the testing for prescription and illicit drugs was observed with a weekly test volume decrease of 70 percent. Hence, there is an increased need for health care and public health organizations to be involved in drug abuse testing during the pandemic era, to minimize the unfavorable health outcomes among the majority of the global population, and thus, the studied market is expected to be impacted during the pandemic era.

The drug abuse testing market is expected to observe good growth due to the increasing demand for drug abuse treatment, stringent laws mandating alcohol and drug testing, and rising drug-related mortality, and increasing government initiatives.

The use of drugs was found giving rise to a lot of illegal activities that consume a lot of resources of a country. These aspects have driven the governments of developed and emerging nations to take legal action against addicts and abusers. Therefore the developed countries such as the United States have stringent laws for drug abuse and have mandated alcohol and drug testing. For the sake of limiting violence or accidents, drug and alcohol testing on the roads, during driving is becoming very common in developing as well as developed countries, which is, in turn, is helping the growth of the overall market. Thus a growing trend witnessed in the drug abuse testing market is that leading players are enhancing their product portfolio through the addition of products and updating of software with new substances for drug abuse testing, in order to maintain their competency and market share.

Identifying drug testing strategies are also necessary, as they may lead to the adoption of drug testing kits and devices, and thus, boost the market growth. Other factors that are expected to affect the growth of this market positively, include increasing demand for drug addiction treatment, rising drug-related mortality, and growing government initiative. This market is also currently growing due to technological advancements, increased sensitivity, minimal time required for testing, and facilitated detection of newly developed designer drugs.

Key Market Trends

Analysis of Urine is Expected to be the Dominant Segment by Sample Type Over the Forecast Period

Drug abuse testing by urine analysis has been suggested and in many cases implemented for workplace drug abuse, as well as in criminal justice cases, etc. There are setups of many laboratories that were established to perform urinalysis associated with methadone treatment that has had to greatly expand their capacities. In recent years, many new laboratories have sprung up to meet the demands for drug assays and clinical laboratories associated with medical centers, under economic pressures in recent years, that has begun to venture into drug testing. Therefore, the urine analysis segment of the market is expected to gain traction shortly.

Also, the technological developments in drug abuse testing, the increasing number of death due to drug overdose, and the growing demand for drug tests have led to the increasing use of urine analysis for drug abuse. Also, the advancements in guidelines by the providers are expected to boost the studied segment. For instance, with effect from April 2020, WellCare Health Plans announced the new Clinical Coverage Guidelines and Claims Payment Policy for urine drug testing and included Definitive urine drug testing was considered medically necessary as part of a routine monitoring program for individuals who receive treatment for chronic pain with prescription opioid or other potentially abused medications or those undergoing treatment for, or monitoring for relapse of, opioid addiction or substance use disorder. Additionally, as per the research article published in the Journal of Applied Laboratory Medicine, 2020, there has been an increased adoption in the targeted panel of urine drug testing and the value of clinical urine drug testing was observed to have improved by providing laboratory-based results interpretation and consultative services. Thus, owing to the aforementioned factors, the studied segment is expected to witness healthy growth over the forecast period.

North America Region Holds the Largest Market Share of Drug Abuse Testing Market and is Expected to do the Same Over the Forecast Period

North America has been accounted for the largest share in the drug abuse testing market, globally. Drug abuse is a serious problem that can lead to legal, financial, and health problems and the North American region is currently facing the same problem. Therefore, various initiatives are being implemented by the United States government to monitor the symptoms and to determine whether a population is under drug abuse. For instance, the Patients and Communities Act of 2018 was the law implemented by the country for counter-acting drug abuse.

There is also a high contribution due to the adaptation of technologically advanced products for drug abuse testing, increased demand for illicit drugs in the region, large-scale drug trafficking, which is being responsible for the growth of the market in the region. As per the 2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health report, more than 500,000 adolescents aged from 12 to 17 years, were suffering from illicit drug use disorder in 2018 in the United States. For adults aged 18 years or above, this number was reported to have increased from 4.6 million in 2017 to 4.9 million in 2018. Additionally, as per National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s 2018 report “Traffic Safety Facts”, there were 36,560 fatalities in total due to driving under influence of alcohol in 2018 in the United States. Additionally, in May 2020, Cannabix Technologies, Inc., developed a new version of its THC Breath Analyzer and has been involved in developing the device for additional testing. Thus, the rising drug and alcohol abuse and emerging new technologies to detect intoxication in the body are expected to help the market growth in the region over the forecast period.

Competitive Landscape

The Drug Abuse Testing market is moderately competitive. The major players in the drug abuse testing market include Danaher Corporation, Siemens Healthineers AG, Drägerwerk AG & Co. KGaA, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, Quest Diagnostics Inc., LabCorp, Abbott Laboratories, and ThermoFisher Scientific Inc., among others. The leading players through strategic alliances such as acquisitions, partnerships, along with new product launches are attaining competency and larger market share in the global drug abuse testing industry. For instance, in August 2019, Abbott Laboratories partnered with Intoximeters, allowing Intoximeters to market Abbott's SoToxaTM Mobile Test System, which is a handheld oral fluid roadside testing solution that rapidly and reliably detects recent drug use along with Intoximeters' Alco-Sensor brand breath alcohol-testing products.

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