Sharp rise in US drug delivery systems demand forecast

Demand for drug delivery systems in the US is set to increase by almost 9% a year to exceed US$82bn (€69.7bn) by 2007.

According to a new report by US industrial market research firm The Freedonia Group, oral controlled-release medication will continue to account for the largest share of demand as a result of cost advantages, a wealth of potential new product applications and significant efficacy advantages over conventional dosage formulations.

The report, Drug Delivery Systems, predicts a rise of 7.8% a year in oral drug delivery systems to $36.5bn (€31bn) in 2007. Steady sales gains will be seen for medicines adapted to controlled-release coated-bead, diffusion and reservoir systems, while the ingestion and onset-of-action benefits of oral and rapid dissolving doses will generate strong growth opportunities, particularly for the delivery of pain control and other critical medication.

Rising incidence of chronic respiratory conditions will boost growth opportunities for inhalation systems, with the strongest gains being recorded by dry powder inhalers. Transdermal patches will continue to expand into new pharmaceutical applications, and insulin pumps and drug-eluting stents will be top-selling implantable drug delivery systems.

While respiratory, cns and cardiovascular agents will remain the top three applications because of the special formulating needs of medicines for conditions such as asthma, arthritis and hypertension, the report says, faster growth opportunities will emerge in delivery systems for hormones, anticancer agents and vaccines due to safety and efficacy shortcomings in conventional methods of administration.