Oral drug sector to see double digit growth, reaching $52B by 2010

According to a new report by USA-based Kalorama Information, a life sciences market research company, the oral drug delivery market is expected to see a compounded annual growth rate of 10% over the next few years, reaching a value of more than $52.0 billion by 2010. The sector, which is made up of both drugs and oral delivery technologies, saw revenues of $35.0 billion in 2006, with the delivery technology segment alone contributing $3.0 billion of this total.

Kalorama reported that the largest section of the overall market was the controlled/sustained release and delayed release segment, adding that its growth continues to be driven by a combination of line extensions to existing drugs, as well as broader market issues.

Mary Anne Crandall, the report's author, explained that "pharmaceutical companies...are increasingly turning to drug delivery to extend the revenue-earning lifetime of their biggest products as they approach or succumb to patent loss." She added that the increasing demand for new convenient forms of medication, particularly in terms of the new biopharmaceuticals, and efforts to provide for an aging population that requires easy-to-use products and cost benefit, will continue to stimulate the growth of the oral delivery market.