Rapid adoption of automated storage systems in clinical and research labs is expected to support a compound annual growth rate of 11.1% through 2034.
As clinical laboratories push for greater efficiency in their processing of blood, urine, and tissue samples, research firm Global Market Insights (GMI) projects massive growth in the international market for automated systems used to safely store and retrieve these samples as well as chemical compounds used in drug discovery and research.
Key Growth Drivers: Biobanking, AI Integration, and Lab Digitalization
The market for automated sample storage systems in life sciences will grow from an estimated $1.3 billion in 2024 to $3.6 billion in 2034, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.1%, GMI stated in a July 2025 report.
“This high growth is attributed to several factors including the growing need for biobanking and maintaining biorepositories, digital transformation across clinical and research laboratories, growth in drug discovery and development, and growing focus on sample integrity and compliance,” GMI stated in a summary of the report.
Market Breakdown: Compound vs. Biological Sample Storage
The market includes a wide range of products used to manage sample storage and retrieval in healthcare, medical research, and drug development. Systems used to store, track, and retrieve chemical compounds accounted for nearly 60% of the market in 2024, with pharmaceutical companies as the primary drivers. Systems used to manage biological samples amounted to approximately 30% of the market.
The report identifies several key factors that are driving this growth. Among them, an increase in the number of biobanks and high-throughput genomic research programs is “significantly driving the growth in sample volumes,” GMI noted. “This trend is boosting the demand for scalable automated storage systems in laboratories.”
Photo copyright: Artem Podrez
Other drivers include new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI). GMI noted that these systems are increasingly deploying AI “to automate sample identification, optimize retrieval processes, and reduce errors.” In addition, labeling techniques such as radio frequency identification and 2D barcodes “have minimized manual intervention while decreasing human mistakes to allow quicker inventory assessments and enhanced traceability,” GMI stated.
However, GMI also noted challenges that could hinder market growth, including high upfront costs and questions about data security.
Regional Trends and Leading Companies in Sample Storage Automation
North America currently boasts the largest market for these systems, an estimated $533.3 million in 2024, GMI reported. However, the Asia Pacific region will see the highest CAGR, growing at a rate of 11.9% through 2034.
GMI identified Brooks Automation as the market leader with a 20% share in 2024. The company’s product line includes PathFinder systems designed to automate management of biological samples in pathology labs, such as sorting, decapping, sealing, and archiving of specimens.
Interestingly, the report noted several recent developments involving Hamilton Company, including a 2024 deal with Platomics to register its liquid handling systems with the latter’s PlatoX regulatory platform. This will make it easier for clinical labs in the EU to comply with the region’s In Vitro Diagnostic Regulation (IVDR) when deploying internally developed tests, the companies stated in a press release.
The market, estimated at $1.02 billion in 2024, will grow to $3.12 billion by 2034, a CAGR of 11.9%, the company said.
The report noted many of the same growth drivers—and challenges—identified by GMI. Drivers include technological advancements as well as the growth of personalized medicine and the need for long-term sample preservation for research related to cancer, cardiovascular, and neurological disease.
“The automated biobanking market is on the cusp of a revolution, not only enhancing the speed and precision of sample management but also enabling cross-border biomedical collaboration, rare disease research, and pandemic preparedness,” the company stated in a press release. “As personalized medicine and digital health accelerate, investments in smart biorepositories will become foundational to innovation in diagnostics, drug discovery, and population health.”
Staffing specialists advise medical laboratories to expect shortages to continue
Clinical laboratory and pathology group managers are keenly aware of the Great Resignation and how it has affected lab industry staffing and recruiting. Medical technologists (MTs) and clinical laboratory scientists (CLSs) are in particularly short supply and some experts do not see this critical shortage waning anytime soon.
In an exclusive interview with Dark Daily, Maggie Morrissey, Director of Recruiting and Staffing Services at Lighthouse Lab Services, explains the multi-faceted problem labs are facing meeting recruitment goals, and how understaffing can lead to bigger matters regarding morale and job satisfaction.
Based in Charlotte, N.C., Lighthouse Lab Services is a medical laboratory consulting and recruiting firm that employs 150 people and services more than 1,500 medical laboratory clients.
In July, Lighthouse released the results of its 2022 Survey on Wage and Morale Issues among Medical Laboratory Professionals. The collected data from 1,112 respondents found that only 27% indicated their clinical laboratories were adequately or well-staffed. Forty percent of respondents believe their labs were moderately understaffed while an additional 33% felt their labs were significantly understaffed.
The primary reasons, according to Lighthouse, for staffing shortages can be attributed to:
The number of schools offering medical technology programs has decreased.
People have been retiring at a higher rate than most industries.
It is difficult to become a medical technologist/clinical laboratory scientist.
There are hurdles to jump through to become a medical technologist.
Medical technology is not a well-known field.
“[Eastern Carolina University] told us they don’t have anyone graduating from the [medical technology] program this year because of COVID. There are all these issues exacerbating the problem,” said Maggie Morrissey (above), Director of Recruiting and Staffing Services at Lighthouse Lab Services, in an exclusive interview with Dark Daily. “Making it more attractive starts at the school level. People need to be introduced to the science of medical technology. It’s not something that many students know exists as a career.” This lack of interest in training programs is a major reason for the severe shortage of medical technologists on staff at clinical laboratories around the US. (Photo copyright: Lighthouse Lab Services.)
Stagnant Pay, Low Morale, Lack of Appreciation in Clinical Labs
“The major issue that we see with medical labs across the country is that they are understaffed,” Morrissey stated. “That tracks to low morale. It’s a major issue for laboratories because when a lab is understaffed and everyone is working very hard, lab staff may not feel appreciated and their morale starts to wane, which snowballs into larger issues.”
Morrissey pointed out that individuals who work for different sized clinical laboratories have dissimilar grievances about their jobs.
“Pay continues to be a concern for all, but benefits are also important,” she said. “Pay and lack of benefits, like not being able to get time off, not having a 401K, and not having health insurance are hurdles for people working in smaller labs.”
Professionals working in medium-sized and larger labs are also concerned about pay, but they have other complaints as well.
“They feel like they are a cog in the machine and feel underappreciated,” Morrissey said. “What we hear a lot from people who work in the clinical labs of large hospitals is that they feel unappreciated by those working in other departments.”
Too Few MT/MS Training Programs to Meet Demand
According to Forbes, the US currently has a shortage of approximately 20,000-25,000 medical technologists. The approximately 338,000 technologists working in the country equate to about one technologist per 1,000 people, which translates to a vacancy rate of 7% to 11% in almost every region.
Forbes also reported that medical technologists in the US had performed approximately 13 billion laboratory tests annually before the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the pandemic added 997 million SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic tests to the existing workload.
Intensifying the problem is that currently there are only 240 medical technologist and medical scientist training programs in the US, which represents a 7% decrease since 2000. Forbes notes there are some states that have no such training programs at all.
“Having the opportunity to train to be a medical technologist is an important thing,” Morrissey said. “More universities and community colleges need to offer associate’s and bachelor’s degrees in medical technology.”
However, even with an increase in available degrees, few students are enrolling in those programs.
Morrissey suggests that clinical lab professionals contact local educational institutions to inform them of the need for medical technology degrees and determine if they can do anything to help start such training programs.
“If you are a medical laboratory in an area that doesn’t have a school that offers a degree in medical technology, I would recommend banging down the doors of community colleges to see how you can get that type of program into place,” she proposed. “It really benefits you. It is really about getting those schools to realize there is a need for medical technologists.”
Morrissey added that schools are beginning to re-add medical technology programs to their curriculum. This may translate into more available MTs and CLSs to work in clinical laboratories and relieve some of the staffing shortages.
Laboratory Automation, More Federal Lobbying Could Help
Automating some medical laboratory operations could present another solution to staffing dilemmas.
“Automation will help a little bit,” she said. “A significant number of labs are adding automation—either at the technology or collection level—so they don’t need as many technologists to run the lab.”
Additionally, regionalization of clinical labs could help with staffing issues because high volumes of samples can allow for the streamlining of staff.
“Some integrated delivery networks (IDNs) that have multiple hospitals within a city or metro area are regionalizing their clinical laboratories and using couriers to transport the samples being collected, resulting in better efficiency and productivity,” she said.
Morrissey also believes there is room for lobbying for the occupation of medical technology at both the state and federal levels. She compared the clinical laboratory profession to how the nursing profession dealt with shortages in the past.
“Nursing is in all hospital and doctor groups,” she explained. “They have very large organizations that are advocating for them at the federal and state level and labs need more of that.”
Clinical Lab Recruiting Reverting to Pre-COVID Qualifications
Though more people are testing themselves for COVID at home, Morrissey says the need for more clinical laboratory professionals will not subside any time soon.
“Before COVID, there was a huge increase in requests for toxicology reports due to drug testing and screening,” she explained. “COVID caused those needs to go away, not because people didn’t need those things, but because everyone was focusing on COVID. If an individual is not going into work, does he or she really need a monthly drug screen? The needs shifted during COVID and now they are shifting back.”
During the COVID-19 pandemic, medical labs were more willing to train individuals who had some lab experience or a background that would indicate they could perform the job duties. It is probable that recruiters will start to have more stringent requirements for potential lab employees, reverting back to pre-COVID qualifications.
Nevertheless, Morrissey believes staffing shortages for medical laboratories will continue.
“In the short term, in the next one to three years, I think it is going to get worse before it gets better,” she said. “In the medium term, automation in clinical laboratories will probably ease the staffing shortage quite a bit. Potentially, we will see more medical technology training programs pop up as the staffing shortages become a better-known issue.”
Shortage of pathologists only adds to the challenges of providing high quality anatomic pathology testing services
DATELINE: Hangzhou, China—More than 1,200 Chinese pathologists and medical laboratory scientists assembled this weekend in a city marked by 1,500 years of history. The occasion was the first-ever combined meeting of the Chinese Society of Pathology and the Pathology Branch of the Chinese Medical Association.
Across the globe, pathologists and clinical laboratory professionals regularly hear about the rapid economic growth in China. This country is modernizing at an astounding rate and the evidence is easy to see in its major cities. That is certainly true here in Hanghzou, which has a population of 8.7 million people and is the anchor city for Zhejiang Province, with a population of approximately 54.4 million. It has many new buildings in its downtown and construction cranes are visible in every direction. (more…)
Gap between supply and demand for Medical Laboratory Technologists (MT) encourages greater use of laboratory automation
If there is a Sword of Damocles hanging over the heads of pathologists and clinical laboratory managers, it is the largest workforce shortage in the history of the medical laboratory industry. For 2011 and beyond, demand for skilled medical technologists (MT) and clinical laboratory scientists (CLS) will far outstrip supply.
Today, many hospital and health system laboratories operate short-staffed. They are unable to recruit and retain even the number of staff positions that are authorized and budgeted. In cases where a thriving hospital laboratory outreach program is generating substantial annual increases in the volume of specimens to be tested, the medical laboratory’s inability to recruit the additional MTs and CLSs required to handle this work creates a high-stress environment for everyone in the laboratory organization.
This rapidly-developing threat comes from outside hackers who are launching cyber-attacks aimed at the various medical devices and wireless systems that are directly connected to the Internet and are used by hospitals, physicians, and other healthcare providers. These cyber-attacks demonstrate a new vulnerability that clinical laboratories and pathology groups should recognize.
