While I’ve got no doubt that the Chinese propofol market is expanding, I’m not convinced that the rest of the global market for propofol is shrinking, as stated in the Chinese report.
According to a 2017 Technavio Report on the anaesthesia drug market, there is increasing demand for propofol worldwide as it is ideally suited to the growing number of short duration procedures, with rapid onset and recovery and fewer side effects for patients. Propofol is also considered superior to other anaesthetics for use in endoscopic procedures, another area of growth (there are 20 million endoscopic procedures performed annually in the US).
A Transparency Market Research Report on the Propofol Market (2018-2026) also sees growth in the propofol market, with the United States and Europe expected to continue to have the largest share. Currently, the US and European markets combined account for approximately three quarters of the global anaesthetics market.
North America is projected to account for the largest share of the global market owing to significant increase in the number of minimally invasive surgical procedures, well-established health care facilities and infrastructure, and easy availability of drugs in the region.
Europe is anticipated to account for the second leading share of the global propofol market by 2026. Increase in the geriatric population requiring dental and ophthalmic surgical procedures and rise in the number of general surgical procedures are likely to fuel the growth of the propofol market in the region during the forecast period.
The market in Asia Pacific is expected to expand at the highest CAGR during the forecast period owing to large population base opting for general, dental, and ophthalmic surgeries in countries such as India and China, rise in awareness, increase in per capita health care expenditure, and rapidly improving health care facilities in the region.
Terumo has good reason, imo, to be interested in developing and marketing an improved propofol formulation as it would be nicely synergistic with its medical device products and business growth plans.
Firstly, Terumo already manufactures and markets a target controlled infusion pump specifically designed to automatically adjust the infusion rate for induction and maintenance of propofol anaesthesia.
Secondly, Terumo is already one of the leading global polymer pre-filled syringe (PFS) manufacturers and has expressed its desire to grow its share of this market. According to Terumo, PFS consumption has more than tripled over the past decade. To date, more than 3.5 billion PFS are being produced each year and that number is expected to grow by approximately 10% on an annual basis. The PFS market, which had an estimated value of US$3.93 bn in 2016, is expected to reach US$ 6.36 bn by 2021.
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