Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) Therapeutics Market: Analyst Perspective

Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD), also known as acid reflux or heartburn, is a long term gastrointestinal disorder that affects huge number of adults across the globe. The risk factors responsible for causing heartburn include aging, obesity, certain medicines, and unhealthy lifestyle habits such as smoking and alcohol consumption.

The treatment approaches for GERD include lifestyle changes, management devices, therapeutics, and surgery. GERD drugs are the most preferred treatment type due to their convenient accessibility and cost-effectiveness. On the basis of drug type, this market is grouped into antacids, H2 receptor blockers, proton pump inhibitors, and pro-kinetic agents.

Global GERD therapeutics market, by drug type, 2016

The incidence rate of acid reflux disease has grown tremendously, globally, since the past few years. Nearly 80 million people in the U.S. suffer from heartburn annually. Hence, the rising cases of acid reflux amongst the adult population are contributing to the growing demand for acid-reducing drugs.

Loss of patent protection on existing proton pump inhibitors will cause a continual decline in market turnover

Proton pump inhibitors, being the popular acid neutralizers, generated majority of the sales in this market over the past decade. However, the market turnover has been experiencing a decline over the last several years owing to patent expiry of leading proton pump inhibitors such as Nexium, Prilosec, and Prevacid. OTC and generic medicines replaced approximately 90% sales of these drugs after patent expiry.

North America held the majority market share in 2016

North America was identified as the largest market for acid reflux disorder therapy. This is primarily due to the huge target population base in the region. GERD afflicts nearly 20% of the total American population, which equals to almost 80 billion. In addition, it is the most common outpatient diagnosis observed in gastroenterology, accounting for around nine million outpatient visits each year. On the other hand, the GERD therapeutics market in Asia Pacific will grow at a faster pace owing to increasing awareness of heartburn and availability of generics for acidity.

Key market players

Although this market is expected to experience passive growth over the forecast period, the competition amongst the market players is likely to be on the higher side in the years to come. Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd; Eisai Co., Ltd; and AstraZeneca PLC are some of the leading companies in this market. AstraZeneca was a market leader in the past, but the patent expiry of Nexium, their blockbuster drug, resulted in a major setback for the company as it lost its top position to Takeda Pharmaceuticals.

Furthermore, Daewoong Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd.; Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; SRS Pharmaceuticals Pvt. Ltd.; and SFJ Pharmaceuticals Group are some of the emerging companies in this generics-driven space. These companies are focusing on the development of new generic molecules to facilitate their market entry.

 In-depth report on global gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) therapeutics market by Grand View Research:

https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/gastroesophageal-reflux-disease-gerd-therapeutics-market