Nano drug market to grow to $53.3 bn by 2018

A NEW comprehensive report by GIA on Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery markets predicts that the global market will reach US$53.3 billion by 2018, driven by aging population, rising incidence of chronic diseases, high unmet medical needs, and advancements in nanomedicine and nano drug delivery.

Pharmaceutical industry represents one of the early beneficiaries of advancements in nanotechnology. Nanotechnology holds the potential to dramatically alter the fields of drug delivery, drug discovery, in vivo imaging, in vitro diagnostics, tissue engineering and implants. Of all the areas of nanomedicine, drug delivery remains the most researched and commercialized areas for nanotechnology in medicine. Nanoscale delivery systems hold potential to reduce undesirable effects of medication while improving therapeutic efficacy. Advancements in this area is expected to result in re-investigation of molecules whose development was earlier shelved due to lower pharmaceutical activity but were known to be biologically active. Also, nanoscale delivery systems can help improve efficacy of certain drugs that are already on the market.

Business interests in the application of nanotechnology is fast rising, driven by rising intensity in research work in this area and growing competition within the general drug delivery technologies. The pharmaceutical industry is witnessing increasing demand for novel drug delivery technologies, as companies seek to minimize drug side effects, reduce quantity of costly active therapeutic agents, and endeavor to differentiate their products from competition as well as from commoditization. In this regard, nano-milled/nano-sized/nano-crystallized products and nanocarriers, such as liposomes, among other approaches are providing a new set of tools to address these issues. Nanomaterials provide novel functions and features that are not delivered by other drug delivery technologies. In addition to enhancing therapeutic efficacy and improving safety profile of existing drugs, nanotechnology has the potential to deliver an all-important means of developing next generation drugs. The ability of dendrimers and micelles to act as imaging agents as well as therapeutic agents is a significant progress in this direction, assisting clinicians in imaging as well as treating tumors.

Nanotechnology-based drug delivery is being seen as a revolution in protein and gene therapy, for delivering biomolecules such as DNA and siRNA, enabling researchers to overcome several hurdles that are found in these therapies using conventional delivery systems. Given the harm caused by chemotherapeutic agents to healthy tissues alongside diseased cells, there is growing interest and efforts to deliver anti-cancer agents directly to tumors, using nanotechnology based delivery systems. In addition, efforts are underway to develop oral formulations of various therapeutic agents. While several drugs delivered orally breakdown in the stomach, nanotechnology-based drug delivery is being explored to ensure smooth passage of a medication through the stomach such that they enter the intestines and are absorbed by the intestinal walls and passed on to the blood stream.

As stated by the new market research report on Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery, the United States represents the largest market worldwide. Growth in the country is driven by various factors such as a strong pharmaceutical industry with robust expertise in related sciences, high focus on R&D, and narrowing drug pipelines of major pharmaceutical companies, among others. Asia-Pacific led by China is forecast to grow at the fastest CAGR of 70% over the analysis period. China is making rapid strides in the area of healthcare and pharmaceuticals. In recent years, the country hasNIKE AIR JORDAN