Pain Drug Delivery Market

Pain drug delivery system is an effective therapy for managing pain, whether it be a chronic nonmalignant pain, a cancer pain, or a spasticity. Medications usually circulate throughout the body in bloodstream, whereas pain drug delivery systems releases medication directly into the fluid surrounding the spinal cord, which leads to fewer drug side effects.

Pain drug delivery systems help lessen chronic pain caused by failed back surgery syndrome, cancer pain, reflex sympathetic dystrophy, causalgia, arachnoiditis, and chronic pancreatitis. Such drug delivery systems used for pain management also helps reduce the spasticity caused by cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, stroke, brain injury and spinal cord injury among others.

Pain drug delivery systems do not eliminate the source of pain or cure any underlying disease, but help to manage the pain.

According to the British journal of anesthesia, prevalence of chronic pain is higher for instance, 10.1%-55.2% of the population in 2010. In U.S., about 30% of the population is suffering from chronic or recurring pain. Approximately, two-third of the population experience chronic pain for more than 5 years. In U.S., the cost of chronic pain is approximately US$100 billion a year.

Growing prevalence of various types of cancers is a major factor driving the market. For instance, there were an estimated 14.1 million cancer cases around the world in 2012. As per WHO statistics, this number is expected to increase to 24 million by 2035. Also rising geriatric population, increasing prevalence of diseases such as osteoarthritis, diabetic neuropathy and chronic arthritis, moreover increasing healthcare expenditure and disposable income are some of the key factors driving the growth for the global pain drug delivery market.

The opportunities for the market growth includes agreements and collaborations of drug delivery system manufacturers with pharmaceutical companies. This will help in the growth of the drug delivery manufacturers, by assisting the pharmaceutical companies with their manufacturing processes, innovative technologies, new drug development, and regulatory procedures.

However, product recalls of drug delivery systems is one of the major restraint for this market which will in-turn affect the R&D expenditure for development of such products. Considering the technological trends, targeted drug delivery technologies based on loaded nano-carriers (nano-shells or nanoparticles) are also attracting interest, which will ultimately lead to the growth of the market.

The global pain drug delivery market is segmented based on technology, application and geography. By technology the global, market of pain drug delivery is segmented into transdermal drug delivery system and intrathecal drug delivery systems among others.  By application, the global pain drug delivery market is categorized into oncology, neurological disorders, pulmonary diseases, and hormonal disorders among others. Oncology projected a higher growth rate. For instance, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), the incidence of cancer based on projections, will be greater than15 million in 2020.

By geography, the global pain drug delivery market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC), the Middle East and Africa (MEA) and Latin America. North America dominated the global pain drug delivery market due to growing geriatric population and regulatory and healthcare reforms like the U.S. Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

For instance, the population aged 65 and over is projected to be 83.7 million in 2050, which is twice that estimated in 2012. Moreover, presence of advanced healthcare infrastructures, reimbursement policies and adoption of innovative products are also driving the market in North America. Asia Pacific is expected to expand in the coming years due to the large patient pool, increasing R&D investment, rising healthcare expenditure along with government funding and initiatives, increase in disposable income, and the rising prevalence of chronic diseases.

Some of the key players in the global pain drug delivery market are Medtronic, Flowonix Medical Inc., Aveva Drug Delivery Systems, Prosolus Pharmaceuticals, 3M, and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.