US Ob/Gyn Pharma Sales To Grow 7% PA

US sales of gynecological and obstetric pharmaceutical products are forecast to advance from a value of $3.76 billion in 1994 to $5.95 billion by 2001, at an annual average compound growth rate of just under 7%, according to a new report published by Frost & Sullivan.

The study notes that the number of female baby-boomers now approaching or entering middle age is growing fast, and forecasts that as a result, the share of the market accounted for by hormonal contraceptives will fall from 43% to 26%, while non-contraceptive sex hormones, used in the relief of menopausal symptoms, will increase from a level of 28% in 1994 to 41% by the end of the reporting period. Vaginal antifungals will represent 12% of the market in 2001, up from 9% last year, and endometriosis drugs will grow from 4% to 5%, it adds.

In many cases, says the study, product revenues are increasing as a result of expanding indication profiles. The number and quality of innovative new products has fallen, and these have increasingly become the province of pharmaceutical giants or the small biotechnology firms.