Global Diabetes Market [1]
Global Demographics The World Health Organization (WHO) projects the world’s diabetic population will reach 366 million by 2030. The projected growth rates for the 2000-2030 period for key geographic areas are: U.S. (102%), Europe (43%), Asia Pacific (130%), and Africa/Middle East (162%). On a global scale, the economic burden of diabetes and related complications accounted for $230 billion in 2007 with hospitalization accounting for 55%, antidiabetic drugs 7%, ambulatory costs 18%, and other drugs 20%. The U.S. spends an estimated $170 billion per year on treatments. As the economic burden increases, healthcare practitioners are seeking ways to reduce the related costs of diabetes.
Global Challenges and Unmet Needs The top three industry challenges include:
Current Therapies The usage pattern of current treatment options is presented in Table 1.
Table 1. Current Therapy Usage Patterns (World)
Global Challenges and Unmet Needs The top three industry challenges include:
- Screening and primary intervention. In the U.S. 13% of adults over 20 are diagnosed with diabetes, 40% are undiagnosed, and 30% suffer from pre-diabetes conditions.
- Stricter FDA regulations as a barrier to entry. As a result of the heart related side affects of Avandia (GSK), the FDA has enhanced the approval barriers for diabetic drugs. New regulations would require diabetes drug developers to include a broader spectrum of patients such as high-risk, elderly, patients with kidney problems as well as advance diabetics. Each patient will have to be monitored separately for heart attacks, strokes, other related heart deaths, and hospitalization. In addition, new drugs will need to demonstrate reduction of glucose levels and statistical analysis on the maximum level of risk. This will all translate into longer and more expensive clinical trials and more delays in the drug development process.
- Effective disease management. Current Type 2 diabetes treatments lack the efficacy needed to meet the needs of the Type 2 diabetic. As a result, limited efficacy combined with undesirable side effects increase the non-compliance of therapy.
Current Therapies The usage pattern of current treatment options is presented in Table 1.
Table 1. Current Therapy Usage Patterns (World)
The use of combination therapy is gaining importance and increasing at a rate of 14% per year in efforts to maintain glucose levels. As a result, this trend in diabetes treatment is supported by new guidelines by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE).
[1] Frost & Sullivan, 2009, Global Diabetes Market, #M3C7-52
[1] Frost & Sullivan, 2009, Global Diabetes Market, #M3C7-52
