Pharmaceutical Grade Silica Gel Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Application (Desiccant, Drug Carrier, Adsorbent, Glidant), By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2018 - 2025

Industry Insights

The global pharmaceutical grade silica gel market size was estimated at USD 40.88 million in 2015 and is expected to witness significant growth over the forecast period, primarily owing to the rising demand from key application segments, such as desiccants, drug carrier, and adsorbent among others. Expansion of the overall pharmaceutical industry is expected to be the major factor for this growth.

Desiccants are used to adsorb and retain the water vapor in a drug formulation. The presence of moisture in excess amount may damage the effectiveness of the drug. The pharma companies are adopting the current industry trends and altering their strategies by modifying product portfolio and implementing cost-cutting measures. Owing to significant growth in specialty medicines, biotech companies are witnessing increasing investments, which will benefit the global market.

U.S. pharmaceutical grade silica gel market by application, 2013 - 2025 (USD Million)

The manufacturers are planning to increase their operating efficiencies, which would ultimately lead to the increasing demand for pharmaceutical grade silica gel. Packaging has always been a key factor determining the quality of the drug, which is ensured by the usage of desiccants canisters. These canisters are responsible for providing protection and maintain the effectiveness of a drug. Canisters are used for the purpose of high-speed insertion in the table bottles. Desiccant sachets consist of silica gel, which plays a critical role in moisture absorption and protection from any kind of damage.

Silica gel’s excellent adsorption capacity at high relative humidity and adsorption rate at high relative humidity have been a major factor for its use in desiccant sachets. Rising sodium silicate prices on account of increasing transportation and energy costs are expected to negatively impact the specialty silica market, which in turn will affect the pharmaceutical grade silica gel market. Abundant availability of sulfuric acid in emerging economies of Asia Pacific and MEA is expected to boost product demand over the forecast period.

Application Insights

On the basis of application, the industry has been segmented into desiccant, the drug carrier, adsorbent, glidant, and other excipients. The drug carrier application segment has been further segregated into scarcely soluble drugs and liquid drugs. Silica gel helps in protection of antibiotic formulations from water vapor and moisture and improves the shelf life and storage stability. This will help in enhancing demand. The expansion of the pharmaceutical industry will remain a major growth contributing factor in the near future.

Pharma grade silica gel is extensively used in the desiccant application segment owing to its property of exhibiting a lower vapor pressure as compared to the surrounding air. The desiccant is a hygroscopic material that sustains the state of dryness in a drug formulation. The performance of desiccants differs with temperature and relative & absolute humidity, and its utilization is decided after analyzing the conditions in which it is used.

Regional Insights

Asia Pacific was estimated as the largest region in 2015, accounting for 45.1% of the global volume share, followed by North America. Asia Pacific is also projected to be the fastest growing market owing to rising demand from the pharmaceutical sectors for the packaging in the form of canisters, desiccants, packets/bags. Increasing market penetration of pharmaceutical ingredients and excipients in the specialty medicines and biotech companies has resulted in propelling growth over the past few years.

Global pharmaceutical grade silica gel market by region, 2015

Rising income levels and improved medical infrastructure is propelling the growth of the overall pharmaceutical sector in Asia Pacific, especially in countries such as China and India. Leading pharma companies such as GlaxoSmithKline are investing heavily to increase their share in India. The Chinese pharma sector has experienced heavy investments in the last few years. In 2015, the sales of drugs exceeded USD 115 billion, the second largest globally. Such factors are expected to have a positive impact on the pharma grade silica gel market.

Pharmaceutical Grade Silica Gel Market Share Insights

The key players in this industry include Clariant International Ltd., Evonik Industries, W. R. Grace & Co. Conn., Solvay S.A., The Dow Chemical Company and E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company among others. Several companies are focusing on new product development as well as capacity expansions in order to increase their business presence which is expected to be responsible for intensifying the competition.

Report Scope 

Segments Covered in the Report

The pharmaceutical grade silica gel report forecasts revenue growth at global, regional & country levels and provides an analysis of the industry trends in each of the sub-segments from 2013 to 2025. For the purpose of this study, Grand View Research has segmented the global pharmaceutical grade silica gel market on the basis of application and region:

• Application Outlook (Volume, Tons; Revenue, USD Thousand, 2013 - 2025)

  • Desiccant

    • Scarcely soluble drugs

    • Liquid drugs

  • Drug carrier

  • Adsorbent

  • Glidant

  • Other excipients

• Regional Outlook (Volume, Tons; Revenue, USD Thousand, 2013 - 2025)

  • North America

    • The U.S.

  • Europe

  • Asia Pacific

    • China

    • India

    • Japan

  • Central & South America

  • Middle East & Africa