Antibacterial drugs market to reach $35.6BN by 2022, research suggests

A recent report by business intelligence provider GBI Research suggests that the antibacterial drugs market is set to reach $35.6 billion by 2022.

The expected growth of the market is to be driven by the emergence of new companies, the approval of new products, as well as the continued success of established market products. These include drugs such as Infanrix, which vaccinates against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis and the penicillin type antibiotic, Augmentin.

Because many protein synthesis inhibitors are now off-patent, GBI Research believes that several drugs for the next generation of protein synthesis will enter the market and benefit from the commercial focus on treating drug-resistant infections.

Thomas Jarratt, associate analyst for GBI Research said: “In an attempt to tackle antimicrobial resistance, many companies are investing in the development of products active against bacteria that are known to be resistant to established classes of antibacterials. The use of protein synthesis inhibitors, for example, is expected to increase dramatically over the forecast period as a result of their effectiveness in treating drug-resistant bacterial infections.”

“Despite this influx of new protein synthesis inhibitors and the release of several new cell-wall synthesis inhibitors, vaccines will still be the leading revenue generating drugs in the antibacterial drugs market. Indeed, the lack of biosimilars for antibacterial vaccines means that generic competition does not impact on sales as it does for other types of drugs, and many developed countries implement schedules for vaccines preventing certain indications."

“Merck’s blockbuster Prevnar, for example, has benefited greatly from this, and its efficacy in infants for the prevention of 13 serotypes of streptococcus pneumonia, the causative agent in pneumonia, has led to widespread global usage in vaccination schedules, culminating in very high revenue.”