Global market for Cell Surface Markers is expected to reach US$1.1 billion by the year 2027 trailing a post pandemic growth rate of 8.9% for the period 2020 to 2027.Several health systems across the world have begun resuming non-COVID-19 care procedures. Demand is expected to spike in the coming months as delayed care leads to management of more critical cases. The impact of delayed care in oncology is especially expected to be severe with delayed diagnosis and lack of timely treatment likely to increase healthcare costs and mortality. The scenario is expected to create pent-up demand for cancer screening worldwide and spur demand for cell surface markers for cancer stem cells used in diagnostics & drug delivery. Both the United States and the U.K have witnessed over 65% reduction in breast cancer checks during Covid-19. Hospitals the world over will be faced with a huge backlog of cancer screening tests which has been accumulating during the Covid-19 pandemic to be cleared in the coming months. The scenario is a significant setback to the global fight against cancer. Missed diagnosis and delayed surgeries are expected to push up cancer mortality rates significantly over the next few years.

Cell surface markers or cell surface antigens are special carbohydrates or proteins present on cell membrane and can be exploited for identification and classification of cells. While certain proteins participate in transportation of molecules through the membrane, cell surface markers hold a pivotal role in intercellular recognition and communication. These surface markers act exclusive fingerprint of a cell and can be used in a diverse spectrum of applications. Cell surface markers are finding increasing use in research, disease diagnosis, drug discovery, personalized medicine and direct treatment for a specific medical condition. These markers allow researchers to determine cell expression of specific receptors to gain insights into biological response. Cell surface markers are commonly used to evaluate cell proliferation and abnormal cell population along with assessment and quantification of residual diseases. The increasing focus on timely diagnosis for disease prevention and reducing burden on healthcare system is driving the demand for cell surface markers. Over the years, application of cell surface markers has expanded beyond lymphocytes to detection of monocytes, macrophages, progenitor cells, and tumor cells. Cell surface markers exhibit the potential to revolutionize stem cell research. Other exciting areas include personalized medicine wherein analysis and understanding of cells isolated from patients and their response to specific therapy would allow the physician to make safer and effective medical decisions. Further, the introduction of monoclonal antibody producing hybridoma technology is further expanding the application options for cell surface markers. A growing number of healthcare facilities including hospitals, doctor`s offices, and diagnostic centers, as well as research entities including pharmaceutical laboratories, independent research institutions, academic/university research programs, and contract research organizations are prioritizing cell surface markers identification in diagnosis as well as research applications.

An interesting new application area is the growing focus of the researcher community to identify cell surface markers associated with COVID-19 to aid in diagnosis. Researchers have noted variations in immunological state, particularly changes in the normal ratio between CD4 and CD8 ratio in viral infections owing to antiviral immune responses. The normal CD4:CD8 ratio, 2:1, is inverted to less than 1:1 in certain viral infections, which can be used as diagnostic marker. In a recent effort in this direction, researchers used flow cytometry to determine the number of CD4 T and CD8 T cells in blood specimens of COVID-19 patients for finding the CD4:CD8 ratio. Researchers also determined the mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) of cellular markers for identifying their expression. The close resemblance of symptoms of common cold with initial signs of COVID-19 is prompting various hospitals to consider C-reactive protein (CRP) reagents to differentiate the two conditions. CRP is a primary cell marker that can assist physicians in diagnosing and follow-up treatment for the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV). Patients with fever and a number of other suspected symptoms undergo CRP along with whole blood cell count testing to help clinicians in identifying common cold from COVID-19 infection. Physicians also conduct nucleic acid test and chest imaging to confirm patients with COVID-19. In addition, clinicians monitor CRP and other biochemical markers during the treatment through to patient recovery.