The global sleep apnea market is expected to be worth $19.72 billion by 2017.
A new report by Dallas-based MarketsandMarkets projected that is a more than double increase from 2011 when the market was estimated to be $7.96 billion.
The United States is the largest market for sleep apnea products followed by Europe and then Asia.
Broadly divided into diagnostic devices and therapeutics devices, the sleep apnea market is witnessing intense competition. The report found that the market is dominated by Philips Respironics and ResMed, which cumulatively account for 70 percent of the market. Other prominent players include Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, CareFusion, Natus Medical, DeVilbiss Healthcare and Weinmann Medical Devices.
One thing notable about the sleep apnea market is that “segment rivalry is high as there are a few well-established firms and several small firms with similar product offerings,” according to the report.
An example of smaller firms vying for the same market is in the neuromodulation space where three device startups are developing implantable therapeutic devices that treat obstructive sleep apnea. All three are striving to provide an alternative to the gold-but-cumbersome standard in treating the condition: CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) masks.
Two of them — Apnex Medical and Inspire Medical Systems — are in Minnesota, while the third — ImThera Medical — is based in California.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
Obstructive sleep apnea, the most common type of sleep apnea, is potentially a lucrative market to chase with 84 percent of sleep apnea patients being diagnosed with the condition. Globally, 100 million people are thought to have the disease, with an overwhelming 80 percent of them remaining undiagnosed.
