Global Statins Market - Significance, Consumption Pattern, and Global Overview

The global statins market is expected to witness a significant decline in the forthcoming years growing at a negative CAGR of approximately 7% between the years 2011 and 2018. Statins mainly dominate the global dyslipidemia therapeutics market. Statins refer to a category of drugs that are used to lower the levels of cholesterol by inhibiting the release of an enzyme known as HMG-CoA reductase. 

This enzyme plays a pivotal role in cholesterol production in the liver. Statins are extensively used for preventing cardiovascular diseases which are a result of excessive cholesterol levels in the human body. Statins help in regulating cholesterol levels in the human body thereby, preventing cardiovascular anomalies. Statins are prescribed to those people who are diagnosed with cardiovascular diseases or to those people who have a family history of cardiovascular diseases. 

Global Statins Market - Market Trends and Threats

The global statins market is expected to witness a drastic downturn in the forthcoming years till about 2018. The factors responsible for such a trend in the statins market include a shift of focus from statins to non-statins and combination therapies, greater availability of generics, weak product pipelines, implementation of cost-reducing policies, and greater generic usage.

The global statins market is highly consolidated. Furthermore, the statins market is likely to become highly competitive in the years to come due to patent expiries of Crestor (rosuvastatin), atorvastatin calcium, Lescol (fluvastatin), and Vytorin (simvastatin/ezetimibe). 

According to the guidelines of the European Society of Cardiology/European Atherosclerosis Society (ESC/EAS) and the National Cholesterol Education Program (NECP), the first choice for treating dyslipidemia and pharmacotherapy is statins. This significantly increases the demand for statins in the global statins market. Widespread implementation of healthcare standards and the prevalence of a large pool of patients in the emerging economies are some of the prominent factors that drive the global statins market. 

The introduction of generic statins is expected to affect the global statins market. Moreover, the other factors that are likely to affect the global statins market are scarcity of new molecules in research and development for products, lower availability of products in the statins category and the expiry of their patents, and high costs. 

Global Statins Market - Global Outlook and Competition Analysis

Geographically, the global statins market is led by North America due to factors like a growing geriatric population, and rising number of high cholesterol cases in this region. 

The statins market in the US is facing a decline due to lack of new molecules in the research and development of products, rising use of generics, and widespread availability of branded drugs which include Lipitor, Pravachol, and Zocor. 

The loss of market exclusivity of Pfizer’s popular product, Lipitor, in the month of November 2011, was immediately followed by the launch of generics of Watson Pharmaceutical Inc. and Ranbaxy Laboratories. 

Crestor, AstraZeneca’s popular statin is expected to lose its market share in the European economies in 2017 and in the US in the year 2016. 

There are several leading and prominent companies engaged in research and development activities pertaining to novel molecules. The global statins market has several potential opportunities for further growth due to the innovation of certain types of new molecules. A significant trend being observed currently is greater demand for combination therapies, and non-statins in place of statins. 

Some of the key players in the global statins market are Novartis AG, Pfizer Inc., Merck & Co Inc., and AstraZeneca PLC.