Still proportionally small, drug delivery is an important and growing part of the pharmaceutical market. Some observers project double-digit growth for the sector as the market realizes not only opportunities in traditional functions such as extending product life cycles, but also in emerging technologies for protein- and peptide-based drugs.
The drug delivery market accounts for roughly 6 per cent of the pharmaceutical industry, and is projected to account for 20 per cent of global pharmaceuticals sales by the year 2005, according to Technical Insights, a division of Frost and Sullivan, a consulting company. Debra Bingham, vice president of Technology Catalysts International (TCI), a Falls Church, Va.-based consultancy, offers a slightly larger percentage and estimates that drug delivery product sales now constitute well over 10 per cent of the total pharmaceutical market. TCI estimates the global drug delivery market to be over $40 billion in product sales in 2001.
In the US, the overall market for drug delivery technologies is expected to increase from $19 billion in 2000 to more than $41 billion by 2007, with revenues expected to increase at a compound annual growth rate of roughly 11 per cent, according to Frost and Sullivan.
The strong growth rates for drug delivery are tied into the utility of the technologies in improving product life cycles for existing drugs as well as increasing sales through better patient compliance. "Pharmaceutical companies are realizing that, not only can improved delivery convey particular drugs more effectively or conveniently, it can also increase patient compliance, and extend the life cycle of these products as they lose their coveted patent protection," says Katherine Austin, analyst, biotech and pharmaceuticals, Tech-nical Insights. Generics companies are also increasingly interes-ted in novel drug delivery technologies for making their products competitive.
Other market drivers include expansion of company pipelines, product differentiation, and reduction of health care costs, according to Technical Insights. Since the 1970s, more than 35 drug delivery systems have been marketed, including transdermal patches, time-release pills, osmotic pumps and depot implants.
Over 300 companies are currently involved in drug delivery research and development. Key players include Nektar (previously Inhale Therapeutic Systems), Alkermes, Cima, Skyepharma, Eurand, Cardinal Health, Johnson & Johnson's Alza and Shire, according to TCI.
"The drug delivery market is now recognized as an important life-cycle management tool," adds TCI's Ms. Bingham. "It is also now being looked at much earlier in the development of pharma products. There are a number of drug delivery companies that are involved in early-stage development projects for new chemical entities.
Many of the smaller drug delivery firms are also having difficulty raising funding. The costs of research and development and the necessary testing through clinical trails can be prohibitive. "While many novel delivery systems may offer enhanced functionality, they may also be extremely expensive to produce," notes Dr. Austin. "Initial outlays may be less important if the profit potential is huge. However, commercially successful drug-delivery products are often those that have made incremental improvements to functionality at modest cost."
Many drug delivery companies are emphasizing a solutions approach to their technologies, an integrated approach that not only involves partnering in the early stage of pharmaceutical development, but also involves the deve-lopment of proprietary pharmaceuticals.
-- Chemical Market Reporter