Emerging nations represent an excellent opportunity for the pharmaceutical industry to develop anti-fungal drugs

Publisher: The Insight Partners

The incidence of fungal infections due to numerous diseases has increased over the last few decades. Furthermore, bloodstream infection incidence is bimodal, with adult people and premature babies having the maximum risk. Cancer treatment using chemotherapy and radiation causes various changes in the body as they destruct cancer cells. Among the significant difference, one is that this treatment weakens the immune system that increases the chances of getting a fungal infection.

According to World Health Organization (WHO), between 2015 and 2020, the pharma sales growth predictions scored higher in developing countries as compared in developed countries, with BRIC-MT (Mexico and Turkey) countries positioning first with a 9.3% growth in sales.

Asia Pacific is the fastest growing geographic market and it is expected to be the fastest revenue contributor throughout the forecast period. Asia Pacific is recognized as a developing market for the pharmaceutical. The growth is driven by that countries such as China, and India which are engaged in conducting several studies.

Many fungal infections are called opportunistic infections, as they generally affect people with weak immune systems. As HIV weakens the immune system, it is more prone to have some types of fungal infections, like coccidioidomycosis, histoplasmosis, cryptococcosis, and pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP).

According to data published by J. Fungi 2017, approximately 3,000,000 cases of chronic pulmonary aspergillosis, around 223,100 cases of cryptococcal meningitis among HIV/AIDs patients. And nearly 700,000 cases of invasive candidiasis, about 250,000 cases of invasive aspergillosis, approximately 100,000 cases of disseminated histoplasmosis, more than 10,000,000 cases of fungal asthma, and around 1,000,000 cases of fungal keratitis occur per annum. The global Antifungal Drugs market accounted to US$ 10,182.3 Mn in 2018 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 3.2% during the forecast period 2019 – 2027, to account to US$ 13,524.2 Mn by 2027.

Companies into this market include Pfizer Inc., Sanofi S.A., Gilead Sciences, Inc., Merck And Co., Inc., Scynexis Inc., Novartis International AG, Abbott Laboratories, Bayer AG, Glenmark Pharmaceutical, and Glaxosmithkline Plc.

Organic and inorganic growth strategies were observed in global Antifungal Drugs industry. The organic strategies which were conducted more compared to the inorganic strategies for the Antifungal Drugs. For instance, in November, 2017, Merck & Co., Inc. declared that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved PREVYMIS (letermovir) to be uses as once-daily tablets for oral use and injection for intravenous infusion. Thus, the organic strategy has enabled the company to grow its business in the market.

The global Antifungal Drugs market by infection type segments was led by superficial fungal infection. In 2018, the superficial fungal infection segment held a largest market share of 62.1% of the Antifungal Drugs market, by infection type. Also, the superficial fungal infection segment is expected to be the fastest growing segments of the market in 2027 owing to change in the environmental condition across the globe which is expected to become the major factor for the growth of the Antifungal Drugs market.

The developing nations are incredibly diverse, and the diseases and health care problems they face are somewhat variable. Thus, the solutions are different and must be made to fit local circumstances. Emerging nations represent an excellent opportunity for the pharmaceutical industry. The emerging markets are expected to be the crucial factor for offering better and lucrative growth opportunities for the market players to expand their business and geographic reach.

The treatment for the fungal infections become more straightforward due to the help of the advancement in the technologies. Also, the healthcare expenditure has created lots of opportunities for the developing nations to provide better and more services and facilities to their people. Regions like Asia, the Middle East, and Africa are investing more in the healthcare sectors.Several factors contribute to the fast growth of pharma emerging markets. The first factor is the patent cliff touching several registered drugs used in the market for several years. Next is the inclination towards the use of generic drugs in established and emerging countries, and the growing availability of biosimilar drugs. The next factor is the change in disease patterns in developing countries. Finally, the difference between manufacturing costs and charges for pharma growth.