Asia Pacific Insulin Market By Product (Rapid Acting, Short Acting, Pre-Mixed, Long Acting) ,By Application (Type I & II Diabetes ),By Source( Analogs & Recombinant Insulin) And Segment Forecasts To 2020

Industry Insights

Insulin is a hormone, which facilitates the entry of glucose into the blood cells. The body’s inability to produce an appropriate amount of insulin leads to the accumulation of sugar in the bloodstream leading to a rise in blood sugar levels and eventually diabetes. The growing global prevalence of diabetes and the increasing incidence rates of lifestyle-induced disorders such as obesity are expected to drive market growth over the next six years. Insulin caters to the diabetic patient population. According to the estimates of International Diabetes Federation, the global prevalence of diabetes is expected to increase from 366 million in 2011 to 552 million by 2030, and such rapid growth in prevalence is expected to have a high impact on market growth over the forecast period. Moreover, the presence of a strong product pipeline portfolio and the future commercialization of these products is expected to serve this market as a future growth opportunity. The Asia Pacific insulin market is dominated by three major companies including Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly, and Sanofi Aventis. These companies in an attempt to preserve market share engage in extensive R&D initiatives to develop novel insulin products with relatively higher efficacies. Moreover, unmet medical needs are taken into consideration while developing new products. E.g. Oramed’s ORMD-0801 - oral insulin for treating type II diabetes. The Asia Pacific insulin market was valued at USD 4,867.1 million in 2013 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 17.6% during the forecast period.

Product Insights

Key product segments analyzed and estimated in this study include rapid-acting analog, long-acting analog, premixed insulin, premixed analog, short-acting insulin, and intermediate insulin. Insulin acting analogs dominated the overall product market in terms of revenue share in 2013 at over 40.0% owing to the high prices of long-acting analogs making significant contributions towards the revenue, introduction of advanced products capitalizing on the opportunities available in the developed markets such as Japan and the phasing out of human insulin by modern insulin analogs on the grounds of efficacy. Lantus by Sanofi Aventis dominated the overall long-acting market in 2013, however, its patent expiration in 2015 is expected to severely affect its market share.

Product (on the basis of source) Insights

Key source segments analyzed and estimated in this study include human recombinant insulin and analogs. Analogs dominated the overall market in terms of revenue share at over 80.0% in 2013 owing to growing market penetration of brands such as Lantus in emerging and underdeveloped markets and the introduction of new products such as Tresiba by Novo Nordisk.

Application Insights

Application segments analyzed in this study include type I and other diabetes and type II diabetes. Type I which was previously known as juvenile or insulin-dependent diabetes dominated the overall market in terms of revenue share in 2013 at over 85.0%. The high usage rates of insulin in treating type I diabetes coupled with the introduction of new drugs catering to this segment accounted for its large market share.

Regional Insights

Key countries analyzed in this study include India, China, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Taiwan, Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, and Thailand. Japan dominated the overall Asia Pacific insulin market with a revenue share of 38.8% owing to the high consumption of innovator brands in this country. Moreover, the presence of high patient disposable income and healthcare expenditure is expected to drive market growth during the forecast period. However, its share is expected to decline by 2020 on account of the rapid growth experienced in emerging Asia Pacific markets of India and China.

Competitive Insights

The global insulin market is oligopolistic in nature and is dominated by players such as Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly and Company and Sanofi Aventis. Some of the other market players include Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Oramed Pharmaceuticals, Nanjing Xinbai Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Boehringer Ingelheim, Merck & Co. Inc., and Biocon.