Eye disorders drug sales set to reach $23.8 billion in 2016, predicts Visiongain

Total worldwide revenues from drugs to treat eye disorders will reach $23.8 billion in 2016, according to a new report from business information provider Visiongain. Leading companies will achieve high sales growth from 2012 to 2022.

The world market for ophthalmic drugs is a profitable segment of the health care market. The market for medicines to treat eye diseases is dominated by large pharma companies, which occupy five of the 10 leading ophthalmic manufacturers' positions. The others participants are specialist companies, with three focused entirely on ophthalmic pharmaceutical products. In 2011, the top 10 ophthalmic drug manufacturers accounted for 70.6% of overall world revenues in this sector. USA-based manufacturers dominate the ophthalmic drug industry and market, with a new entrant, Regeneron - with its recent launch of Eylea (aflibercept, for wet age-related macular degeneration) - rapidly establishing itself in that market.

The overall ophthalmic medicines market is stimulated by a rising prevalence of eye disorders worldwide. The main causes of visual impairment and loss in the developed countries are retinal diseases, such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD), diabetic macular edema, and macular edema due to retinal vein occlusion. Worldwide, over 50 million patients are estimated to have AMD, with prevalence rates expected to double by 2020. Glaucoma, the leading cause of irreversible blindness, affects an estimated 70 million people worldwide. Its treatment remains one of the largest segments of the ophthalmic prescription drugs market.