WORLD MARKET FOR BIO-DRUGS

Biopharmaceuticals will be the single fastest-growing segment of the total pharmaceutical market worldwide in the 1990s, with average annual growth of over 42% during the first half of the decade, according to a new report from Delphi Associates, which is based in Brussels and Washington DC.

In 1995, revenues from biopharmaceutical products are expected to reach close to $13.3 billion worldwide, the report forecasts, to account for 6.1% of the total global drugs market.

Cytokines are expected to replace human insulin as the leading revenue earner among the biopharmaceuticals, capturing 25.7% of the market this year and rising to dominate the world market with a share of 36.4% in 1995. Next in 1995 will be erythropoietin, with a 15.5% share, followed by human insulin at 15.5% and human growth hormones at 10.7%. Projected market shares of other products in 1995 are monoclonal antibodies - 5.8%, recombinant vaccines - 4.2%, growth factors - 3.8%, recombinant tPA - 3.4%, recombinant factor VIII - 3.3% and superoxide dismutase - 0.5%.