Pharmaceutical Market
The global pharmaceutical market has persistently experienced significant growth due to the ever-increasing demand for novel and more effective drugs. The reasons for this steady increase in the demand for drugs worldwide can be attributed to population growth, newer and more complex disease conditions, ageing population, and the increased prevalence of chronic and infectious diseases, some of which still remain incurable and fatal. Such numerous unmet needs and high demand rates have triggered the boost in R&D investments by key industry sectors, greatly driving the growth of this industry. The pharmaceutical market, valued as a multi-billion dollar market, is undoubtedly the largest revenue generator for the life sciences industry.
The pharmaceutical industry can be divided into numerous market segments based on the different therapeutic areas and applications. The largest segment, the market for cardiovascular drugs, records huge sales every year. The rising world population, rapid ageing of the same, and an increased prevalence of diseases are the major factors driving growth of this industry. The recent breakthroughs in proteomics and genomics have led to the development of modernized approaches to drug discovery and development in the industry, for the possibility of newer, advanced, and more sophisticated therapies and drugs. Developments in biotechnology research have led to introduction of advanced therapies involving biopharmaceuticals, regenerative medicine, stem cells, etc. These new age therapies and products have caused ease of treatment procedures and enabled speedy recovery from various disorders. Technological growth in such interdisciplinary fields has opened up new arenas in drug discovery, drug delivery, and life sciences research.
Certain incurable diseases like cancer and AIDS, which are therapeutic areas of prime concern for scientists and doctors all over the world, depict immense growth potential for the pharmaceutical industry in the future. Surfacing of newer diseases and therefore, the rising requirement of newer drug delivery methods, explains the greater than before importance of research and development activities in the industry. Industry leaders now generously allocate around 20% of their turnover to R&D to allot the finest instruments and manpower for their use. This has helped them maintain a competitive edge over other players in the market. However, the high costs of R&D, shorter product life cycles, and trouble producing a ‘best-seller’ has introduced the trend of mergers, acquisitions, strategic alliances, and most importantly, outsourcing in the industry. Numerous companies have been entering into global tie-ups and collaborations pooling and utilizing their resources for R&D and new product development in almost all areas. With this ongoing and rapidly developing trend, countries have shown great interest in encouraging investments in developing R&D and manufacturing facilities by public funding and tax exemptions.
The industry, however, faces certain major challenges, one of them being the imbalance between the rate of introduction of novel drugs and that of patent expiry of the already existing brands. Rising research investments, development of better infrastructure, efficient allocation of resources, etc. are some of the measures adopted by players to cope with this problem. Stringent governmental regulation of this market in certain countries also sometimes restricts growth and causes loss of potential opportunities. However, certain regulatory measures such as patent protection for novel and blockbuster drugs helps manufacturers recover the massive investment costs incurred during the discovery, development, and commercialization of products. On the other hand, there are generic versions of drugs which are available at minimal prices as compared to patented drugs. These address the issue of affordability of drugs to the lower income groups.
Presently, the global pharmaceutical market is dominated by the United States. But huge double-digit growth rates are being observed in developing countries too, China and India being the best examples. This is mainly due to a large number of established multinational pharmaceutical companies outsourcing their research and manufacturing activities to these countries, owing to the favorable cost factor, modernized infrastructure, and a large and skilled base of scientifically knowledgeable manpower. Also, other emerging regional markets like Brazil, Russia, Germany, France, Spain, etc., continue to show tremendous growth in the pharmaceutical sector.
This section on pharmaceutical industry research consists of market research reports on its various segments like Cardiovascular drugs, Anesthesia drugs, Drug Discovery and Development, Dentistry, Dermatology, Blood and blood products, Clinical Diagnostics, In vitro/Molecular Diagnostics, Radiology, Oncology, Dietary Supplements, Vaccines, Generics, and OTC drugs. The reports presented in this section include in-depth industry analysis involving major market players, latest market trends, new product developments, growth drivers, growth restrainers, market forecasts, and so on.