Overview
Nucleic acid amplification is one of the most commonly performed molecular biology techniques and is a necessary precursor to a range of methods from gene cloning and site-directed mutagenesis to the quantitative analysis of gene expression. The Nucleic Acid Amplification Dashboard was developed from responses to a 37-question survey by 437 scientists predominantly located in North America and Europe. This Dashboard reveals key market indicators for the nucleic acid amplification market as a whole as well as for the following sub-segments:

• Standard PCR with Taq polymerase, hot start Taq polymerase and
   proofreading polymerases
• PCR with Taq polymerase and with hot start Taq polymerase
• RT-PCR with Taq polymerase and with hot start Taq polymerase.

While standard protocols may be well-defined, amplification markets are quite fluid, with significant influence from such external sources as:

• an evolving intellectual property landscape
• new pricing strategies from established suppliers
• application to emerging research areas such as gene silencing, SNP
   genotyping and rapid, whole genome sequencing

In order to dive more deeply into the characteristics and dynamics of the market for nucleic acid amplification products, Percepta has introduced the Nucleic Acid Amplification Dashboard, designed to take a snapshot of the current market landscape.

Survey Methodology
In November/December of 2006, Percepta fielded three surveys to the company’s panel of research scientists:

• Nucleic Acid Purification and Amplification Survey
• Gene Silencing and Gene Expression Profiling Survey
• Mammalian Transfection and Cell Culture Survey

This report reveals the results of the Amplification section of the Nucleic Acid Purification and Amplification Survey. The results of the Nucleic Acid Purification section as well as the other two survey projects are available as separate Life Science Dashboard™ publications. Contact Percepta for more information on these additional reports.

Individuals were invited by e-mail blast to click through to a webpage at bioanalytix.com where the survey was hosted. Invitations were delivered on November 13, 2006 and results collected through December 8. A total of 437 scientists completed the survey, of which 418 are actively engaged in the amplification of nucleic acids.

Respondent Demographics
Respondents from the academic, government and commercial market segments are well represented, with nearly 18% of respondents employed in an industry setting. About 75% of respondents are from North America, while 20% reside in Europe.

Junior (Lab Tech, Grad Students), mid level (Post-Doc, Lab Manager) and senior (Professor/PI, Group Leader) scientists are well represented in the data set, with the most cited job titles being Scientist/Senior Scientist (24.0% of respondents) and Lab Manager (13.6%).

A wide variety of scientific areas of specialization is also evident, led by cell biology and biochemistry (each named by 14.6% of respondents as their primary area of expertise), microbiology/ infectious disease/ virology (13.2%) and genomics (9.6%).

Small (1-5 scientists), medium (6-20 scientists) and large (>20 scientists) laboratories are well represented: 34.8% of respondents work in labs where 1 to 5 people perform experiments; 49.7% in labs with 6 to 20 experimenters, and the remaining 16.0% in labs with greater than 20 bench scientists.