Pulmonary drug-delivery market to reach $34.5B by 2010

The practice of utilizing the entire surface area of the lungs to deliver drugs into blood circulation has slowly transformed into reality, as technological advances and a growing demand for innovative drug delivery systems will likely create a market worth $34.5 billion in 2010, according to Drug Delivery Markets, Volume 3: Pulmonary Delivery Systems, a new study published by market research firm Kalorama Information.

The report shows 2006 revenues for the total pulmonary drug delivery market reaching $25.5 billion, an increase of 11.8% since 2002. Sales of drug delivery technologies alone increased from $1.4 billion to $1.6 billion during the four year period from 2002-2006. Similarly, pharmaceuticals delivered through pulmonary means grew to $23.9 billion, with the overall market showing a compound annual growth rate of nearly 10% during this time period, the report notes.

Although sales of Pfizer's Exubera, the first inhaled insulin, have not matched multi-billion dollar expectations, the product opens doors for inhaled delivery to be used in wider variety of macromolecules, many of which are currently administered by injection, a method that often meets with consumer resistance. New agents currently under investigation for pulmonary delivery include interleukin-1 receptor, heparin, interferons and calcitonin, among others.