Growth rates recently enjoyed by the world market for prescription antiviral medications will peak in the 2005-2006 period at nearly 17% before falling to more modest levels by the end of the decade
The excellent annual growth rates recently enjoyed by the world market for prescription antiviral medications will peak in the 2005-2006 period at nearly 17% before falling to more modest levels by the end of the decade, according to a newly released report from Kalorama Information.
New product approvals and increased demand are the driving forces behind the current growth of the nearly US$16 billion market.
According to the study, the World Market for Anti-Infectives Vol III: Antivirals, HIV will continue to dominate the segment in terms of product offerings and revenues.
Protease inhibitors alone have shown annual growth in excess of 20% in the past few years.
However, therapies for hepatitis, herpes, and influenza are also showing great promise as they are less vulnerable to long-term threats like political and economic pressures and rapidly developing antiviral resistance.
"Antiviral resistance in HIV is unique," remarks report author Melissa Elder.
"Because of HIV's rate of replication and mutation, antiretroviral therapy provides one of the most dramatic examples of human intervention's impact on evolution in an ecological system.
"HIV drug resistance follows the same path as bacterial resistance, but with one huge difference: HIV is not curable, and drug-resistant variants are archived within the patient for life".
In addition to a thorough analysis of the forces shaping the market and forecasts through 2009 for each drug class, the report segments the market by infection type and geographic region, and provides marketer and product market shares.
The volume is the last in a series of studies on anti-infective drugs worldwide.
The other volumes are Volume I: Antifungals (April) and Volume II: Antibacterials (May).
The World Market for Anti-Infectives Vol III: Antivirals can be purchased directly from Kalorama Information.
