Oral solid dosage form excipients market to grow across all levels, forecasts report

The oral solid dosage form (OSDF) excipients market is valued at nearly US$2.3bn in the US, Europe, India, and China, and is growing globally, according to a new report from consultancy Kline & Company.

The report, Specialty Excipients for Oral Solid Dosage Form Pharmaceuticals Global Series: Business Analysis and Opportunities, says growth in consumption of excipients in the emerging Indian and Chinese markets is driven by rising incomes and willingness to spend more on healthcare. Key factors driving growth in major markets such as the US and Europe include ageing populations and high demand for pharmaceuticals.

Nikola Matic, Industry Manager at Kline’s Chemicals & Materials practice, said due to this growing demand, the major markets will continue to flourish, but emerging markets will outpace them. Driven by the Indian and Chinese markets, the consumption of OSDF excipients is expected to grow at 7.4% every year to 2018, he said.

Although the major markets of Europe and the US have similar volume to the emerging markets of India and China, which currently stand at approximately 100,000 tons per region, the market values are very different from one region to another. This is due to the different types of excipients used: mature markets are dominated by functional and usually more expensive excipients, while emerging markets are looking to use cheaper alternatives, such as native starches.

Prices are not the only factor affecting the excipients market

'The added properties of some excipients allow more functional finished products, for instance, offering sustained-release of the active ingredient,' said Matic. 'Excipients vary greatly in price from $1.00 to $40.00 per kilo, and emerging markets are dominated by cheaper alternatives. However, prices are not the only factor affecting the excipients market, as the consumption of OSDF excipients is driven by three different levels of drivers and restraints.'

The first is that the consumption of excipients is primarily driven by the global growth of the pharmaceutical industry itself. Its key drivers include ageing populations in mature markets and economic growth in emerging markets.

The second consists of the factors affecting OSDFs in particular. For their easy use and manufacturing, OSDFs are favoured over other dosage forms, which again positively affect the market of OSDF excipients.

The third level affecting growth are the trends shaping the OSDF excipients market internally. These include the larger growth of excipients used in tablet form, which is often preferred to capsules; the expansion of orally disintegrating tablets (ODTs); and the growth of functional excipients which allow controlled-release and sustained-release of active ingredients within a pharmaceutical product.