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A glimpse of Autoimmunity in Asia

In recent years the incidence of autoimmunity seems to be very high in Asian countries

Autoimmunity is perceived as a subject for western countries in Asia in general and in particular in India. This is more so because we feel our patients cannot afford the costs of these autoimmune tests as the disease itself is non threatening unlike other pressing diseases like cancer etc. The general perception is the incidence of autoimmunity is not so high in Asia as compared to western countries. But the fact is no major study has been done on this in Asia so it is just a perception. In fact, if we go by the lab reports in recent years the incidence of autoimmunity seems to be very high in Asian countries. The only thing is that these tests were not done earlier as the focus was more on life threatening diseases.

Due to the rapid growth in the Asian economy in the last few years, the tests of autoimmunity has increased sheer due to the affordability by the patients to spend more on their health welfare. Autoimmunity as a sector would grow at the rate of 30 per cent in the next 15-20 years in majority of the Asian countries.

Among the Asian countries China and Singapore are the mature markets where the awareness levels on autoimmunity is quite high. In these countries, a lot of specialised autoimmunity testing is done like Autoantibodies for Neuronal disorders, skin disorders etc apart from the routine tests for autoimmunity.

India is a growing market for autoimmunity currently pegged at $800,000. In next five years, India might have number of specialised autoimmune laboratories just like the way it is in China and the major developed countries. China's autoimmunity market is close to $ five million and the overall Asian market will be approximately $10 million. The diagnostic companies in India will have to work hard for the awareness on autoimmunity to expand the market.

MK Singh
Email: mksingh@immco.com