Pharma

Report: Rapid development and adoption of biologic drugs will drive API market growth

Rapid growth of biopharmaceuticals will boost the global market for active pharmaceutical ingredients over the […]

Rapid growth of biopharmaceuticals will boost the global market for active pharmaceutical ingredients over the next five years, according to a new report.

GBI Research’s new analysis of the API market, which is currently dominated by synthetics, saw the market grow 17 percent annually between 2005 and 2011, and predicts it will continue growing from $108.6 billion in 2011 to $167 billion by 2017.

Patent expirations will reduce the dominance of synthetic APIs and open the door for biopharmaceuticals, which are derived from living organisms and may offer high target specificity, high efficacy and fewer side effects.

Despite the high cost of developing and manufacturing biologics, many multinational pharmaceutical companies have shifted their focus toward biologics, either through subsidiaries or outsourcing, the report notes. Companies and governments globally are also devoting enormous amounts of money to develop these drugs.

Abbott, for example, has said that more than 30 percent of its pipeline is biologics. Roche, meanwhile, got two-thirds of its pharma sales in 2010 from biologics.

These drugs are in especially high demand for use in cancer, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and orthopedic repairs. Abbott’s Humira, Amgen’s Enbrel and Biogen Idec’s Rituxin are some of the best-selling biologics today.

The development of lower-cost biosimilars has also allowed for some penetration of biopharmaceuticals in developing countries, the report noted.

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