Ophthalmology Drugs Market Definition
The ophthalmology drugs market consists of sales of ophthalmology drugs and related services by entities (organizations, sole traders and partnerships) that produce ophthalmology drugs to treat eye related diseases. The ophthalmology drugs industry includes establishments that produce pharmaceutical drugs to treat glaucoma diseases, anti- inflammatory and tear stimulating drugs under dry eye medications drugs, and other drugs for treating retinal disorders and allergies. Some of the major ophthalmic drugs include Eylea, Lucentis, Restasis, Vigamox, Azopt, and Lotemax.
The pharmaceutical industry develops drugs to diagnose, cure, treat or prevent diseases. Pharmaceutical drugs are subjected to various laws and regulations that deal with patenting, testing, safety, efficacy and marketing. Ophthalmologic drug manufacturers produce pharmaceutical drugs made from active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) and excipients.
Ophthalmology Drugs Market Size
The global ophthalmology drugs market is expected to decline from $24,640.0 million in 2019 to $19,831.3 million in 2020 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of -19.5%. The decline is mainly due to economic slowdown across countries owing to the COVID-19 outbreak and the measures to contain it. The market is then expected to recover and grow at a CAGR of 44.6% from 2021 and reach $33,272.8 million in 2023. The market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.2% to nearly $38,223.53 million by 2025, and at a CAGR of 7.0% to $53,698.87 million by 2030.
Growth in the historic period resulted from the aging population prone to age related eye disorders, increase number of contact lens users suffering from dry eye condition, increased funding from public and private research organizations, increased healthcare expenditure globally, increase in allergy diseases (hay fever) and increase in number of treatment options. Factors that negatively affected growth in the historic period were low healthcare access, particularly in developing countries, and lack of awareness about eye disorders such as dry eye and glaucoma.
Going forward, rise in laser surgeries, digitalization of the workplace, increasing prevalence of eye-related disorders and increasing geriatric population, growing burden of the diabetes and other comorbidities, side effects of other medication, and promising pipeline for dry eye disease will drive growth. Factors that could hinder the growth of the ophthalmology drugs market in the future include long and costly drug approval procedures, inadequate insurance coverage of ophthalmologists’ services expiration of branded drug patents and disruption in the supply chain of ophthalmology drugs due to the impact of covid-19.
Ophthalmology Drugs Market Drivers
The key drivers of the ophthalmology drugs market include:
Increasing Prevalence Of Eye-Related Disorders
Increasing incidence and prevalence of eye diseases causing vision loss or blindness and age-related eye diseases is expected to support the growth of the ophthalmic drugs market. Eye disorders such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD), glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, and cataract are becoming major causes of visual impairment and blindness globally. Globally, AMD ranks the third cause of blindness after cataract and glaucoma.lxxix It is estimated that AMD, on average, affects an estimated 34 million people in the European Union (EU) with 22 million people, in the five most populous European countries alone. It is expected that there will be a 25% rise in AMD patient population by 2050 owing to the population growth and aging. By 2050, an estimated 7.32 million people in the USA are expected to have primary open angle glaucoma (POAG), a rise from 3.15 million in 2015.lxxx There has also been a rise in diabetic retinopathy largely due to the spike in diabetes across the world. It is estimated that more than 25% of diabetic patients are expected to have diabetic retinopathy going forwardlxxxi. The increasing incidence and prevalence of eye-related disorders is expected to drive the ophthalmology drugs market.
Ophthalmology Drugs Market Restraints
The key restraints on the ophthalmology drugs market include:
Inadequate Insurance Coverage
Inadequate social protection in health is expected to be one of the major barriers for the growth of the ophthalmology drugs market. According to 2015 report released by WHO and the World Bank, 400 million people worldwide do not have access to essential health services and 6% of people in low- and middle-income countries are tipped into or pushed further into extreme poverty because of health spending.lxxxviii Eye care is not hospital-based, nor does it constitute a huge portion of commercial insurance portfolios making ophthalmology not the first priority for healthcare insurance.lxxxix In the USA, the new guidelines of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) increased deductibles of healthcare insurance plans as high as $6,500 for an individual and $12,700 for a family without covering the full treatment prescribed by an ophthalmologist, pushing patients to skip their routine checkups or follow-up visits. Additionally, prices of some glaucoma medications increased from $5 for a generic to $50xc. Inadequate insurance coverage is expected to restraint the ophthalmology drugs market going forward.
Ophthalmology Drugs Market Trend
Major trends influencing the ophthalmology drugs market include:
Development Of New Mode Of Delivery Systems
Dry eye drug manufacturing companies are attempting to develop dry eye care products in various delivery systems to ensure improved patient compliance and usage along with profitability for the companies. Hence the introduction of new mode of delivery systems such as eye sprays for immediate comfort and improved patient compliance. Eye spray improves eyelids humidification, which serves as a substitute for people avoiding eye drops. For instance, Candorvision unveiled the CALMO Eye Spray, the first free eye preservative spray to be sold in Canada. CALMO Eye Spray repairs and stabilizes the tear film`s lipid layer with its German liposome technology, and thus effectively solves one of the root causes of dry eye syndrome.
Development Of Combination Therapies
Development of combination therapies for the treatment of dry eye related diseases is an emerging trend in the dry-eye medication market. Combination therapy involves the use of more than one medication or drug to treat a disease. These combinational therapies reduce the frequency of administration of eye drops or drugs, and reduce the possibility of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression, choroidal neovascularization and inflammation.
Opportunities And Recommendations In The Ophthalmology Drugs Market
Opportunities – The top opportunities in the ophthalmology drugs market segmented by type of drug will arise in the other ophthalmology drugs segment, which will gain $5,975.5 million of global annual sales by 2023. The top opportunities in the ophthalmology drugs market segmented by distribution channel will arise in the retail pharmacies segment, which will gain $4,580.4 million of global annual sales by 2023. The top opportunities in the ophthalmology drugs market segmented by prescription type will arise in the prescription drugs segment, which will gain $5,216.39 million of global annual sales by 2023. The top opportunities in the ophthalmology drugs market segmented by drug variation will arise in the generic drugs segment, which will gain $5,430.37 million of global annual sales by 2023.
The ophthalmology drugs market size will gain the most in USA at $3,838 million. Market-trend-based strategies for the ophthalmology drugs market include develop innovative drugs, develop drugs with rho-kinase inhibitors to make the glaucoma drugs more effective, develop preservative free eye drops for the treatment of dry-eye syndrome, develop new mode of delivery systems for the treatment of dry-eye syndrome, invest in research and development of new and advanced drugs, develop non-steroidal anti-inflammatory ophthalmic drugs, develop combination therapies and consider acquiring smaller companies to diversify their product portfolio. Player-adopted strategies in the ophthalmology drugs market include expanding through acquisitions, expanding its ophthalmic products to newer geographies by obtaining drug approvals from regulatory authorities, and aim at building diverse ophthalmology portfolio with a pipeline of drugs.
Recommendations – To take advantage of the opportunities, The Business Research Company recommends the ophthalmology drug manufacturing companies to focus on developing non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), invest in innovations and research and development, focus on developing innovative drugs for postoperative inflammation and pain, offer competitive or reference pricing, offer skimming price for branded drugs, expand to low cost countries, scale up through collaborations, use direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising and use big data analytics to improve marketing activities.
Ophthalmology Drugs Market Segmentation
The ophthalmology market is segmented by drug type, prescription type, distribution channel, drug variation and by geography.
By Drug Type-
The ophthalmology drugs market can be segmented by drug type
- a) Antiglaucoma Drugs
- b) Dry Eye Medication
- c) Other Ophthalmology Drugs
The ophthalmology drugs market is segmented by drug type into antiglaucoma drugs, dry eye medication and other ophthalmology drugs used to treat retinal disorders, infections and allergies. The other ophthalmology drugs market was the largest segment of the ophthalmology market, accounting for 58.1% of the total in 2019. It was followed by antiglucoma drugs and dry eye medication. Going forward, the other ophthalmology drugs segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the ophthalmology market, at a CAGR of 9.1%.
By Prescription Type-
The ophthalmology drugs market can be segmented by prescription type
- a) OTC Drugs
- b) Prescription Drugs
The ophthalmology drugs market is segmented by prescription type into OTC drugs and prescription drugs. The OTC drugs market was the largest segment of the ophthalmology market segmented by prescription type, accounting for 54.1% of the total in 2019. Going forward, the prescription drugs segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the ophthalmology drugs market segmented by prescription type, at a CAGR of 9.9%.
By Distribution Channel-
The ophthalmology drugs market can be segmented by distribution channel
- a) Hospital Pharmacies
- b) Eye Health Clinics
- c) Retail Pharmacies
- d) Online Pharmacies
The ophthalmology drugs market is segmented by distribution channel into hospital pharmacies, eye health clinics, retail pharmacies and online pharmacies. The retail pharmacies was the largest segment of the ophthalmology drugs market segmented by type of distribution channel, accounting for 63.0% of the total in 2019. Online pharmacies segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the ophthalmology drugs market segmented by type of distribution channel, at a CAGR of 15.4%.
By Drug Variation-
The ophthalmology drugs market can be segmented by drug variation
- a) Branded Drugs
- b) Generic Drugs
The ophthalmology drugs market is segmented by drug variation into branded drugs and generic drugs. The branded drugs was the largest segment of the ophthalmology drugs market segmented by drug variation, accounting for 50.8% of the total in 2019. Generic drugs segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the ophthalmology drugs market segmented by drug variation, at a CAGR of 9.7%.
By Geography–
The ophthalmology drugs market is segmented into
- o North America
- o Western Europe
- UK
- Germany
- France
- Spain
- Italy
- Denmark
- Switzerland
- Ireland
- Sweden
- Netherlands
- Austria
- Belgium
- Portugal
- Norway
- Finland
- o Asia Pacific
- China
- Japan
- India
- Australia
- Philippines
- Vietnam
- Indonesia
- Malaysia
- New Zealand
- Hong Kong
- Singapore
- South Korea
- Thailand
- o Eastern Europe
- Poland
- Russia
- Romania
- Czech Republic
- o South America
- Peru
- Argentina
- Chile
- Brazil
- Colombia
- Venezuela
- o Middle East
- Saudi Arabia
- UAE
- Turkey
- Israel
- o Africa
- Nigeria
- Egypt
- South Africa
North America was the largest region in the global ophthalmology drugs market, accounting for 41.4% of the total in 2019. It was followed by Asia Pacific, Western Europe, and then the other regions. Going forward, the fastest-growing regions in the ophthalmology drugs market will be North America and Asia Pacific, where growth will be at CAGRs of 8.9% and 8.5% respectively. These will be followed by Western Europe and South America, where the markets are expected to grow at CAGRs of 5.4% and 4.7% respectively.
Ophthalmology Drugs Competitive Landscape
Major Competitors are:
- • Novartis AG
- • Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
- • Allergan plc
- • Bayer AG
- • Santen Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
Other Competitors Include:
- • Shanghai Pharmaceuticals
- • Johnson & Johnson
- • Bayer AG
- • Pfizer
- • Sun Pharma
- • Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd
- • Daiichi Sankyo
- • ERC Labs
- • Vision gain
- • Medicom Health care
- • Implandata ophthalmic products GmbH
- • The Geuder Group, MORCHER® GmbH
- • Novamedika
- • Aflofarm Farmacja Polska Sp. z o. o,
- • Alcon Pharmaceuticals Czech Republic S.r.o.
- • VUAB Pharma, Inc
- • Endo International plc
- • Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc
- • Herzig Eye Institute
- • Thomas Eye Group
- • ReGenTree, LLC
- • Regenerx Biopharmaceuticals Inc
- • Shire
- • Teuto Brasileiro
- • Biolab Farmaceutica
- • Cristalia
- • Roche
- • Adcock Ingram