Category Archives: Drugs

Medical Marijuana

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As of March 2011 there were laws in seven U.S. states that made it legal to sell and use marijuana for medicinal purposes. Those states were California, Colorado, Michigan, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington. Four additional states and the District of Columbia are scheduled to open markets for medical marijuana before the end of 2011: Arizona, Maine, New Jersey and Rhode Island. The laws regulating the sale and use of marijuana in these states vary widely which makes tracking the market a complicated task. But as a fast growing market the motivation to track it is present and the task is made easier by the fact that marijuana is a highly regulated commodity and is therefore tracked carefully by most of the states in which its use for medical purposes is legal.

Today’s market size is the estimated value of marijuana sold legally in the United States. As a point of comparison, and according to the source, the sale of Viagra in the United States in 2010 was valued at $1.93 billion.

Geographic reference: Select states within the United States
Year: 2011
Market size: $1.7 billion
Source: Wayne Heilman, “Report: Medical Marijuana Sales to Reach $1.7B This Year,” The Gazette, Colorado Springs, March 24, 2011, available online here.
Original source: See Change Strategy and Medical Marijuana Markets

Drug Company R&D

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The market size presented here is an estimate of the dollars spent by the pharmaceutical industry on research and development in 2009. This is a thorny and complex subject—what costs are included in R&D and how do pharmaceutical companies decide what to spend on developing new drugs and to modify old ones. For anyone interested in the subject beyond this quick snapshot, we recommend a report titled “Research and Development in the Pharmaceutical Industry,” published in 2006 by the Congressional Budget Office, and available online here.

Geographic reference: World
Year: 2009
Market size: $45.8 billion
Source: “New Federal Research Center Will Help Develop Medicines,” The New York Times, January 23, 2011, page 1.
Original source: Industry estimate

IBD Drug Market

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IBD stands for Inflammatory Bowel Disease. An estimated 1.2 million Americans suffer from IBD. Leading brand name drugs designed to treat this disease include Asacol HD, Shire Lialda, Shire Pentasa and Prometheus Entocort EC.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 2009
Market size: $1.56 billion
Source: “Santaris,” January 11, 2010.
Original source: IMS Health

Lice Treatments

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With recent news about the reemergence of a bedbug infestation, we are reminded that the little pests that infest our lives from time to time must be dealt with over and over again. Lice are such pests and while not spoken of very often, the size of the market for lice treatments suggests that many battle these little pests in silence, behind closed doors.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 2009
Market size: $65.88 million
Source: MMR, April 19, 2010, page 69.
Original source: SymphonyIRI

Allergy Treatments

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The size of the market for drugs to treat allergies has fallen during the first decade of the 2000s. The likely reason for this decline in the value of sales is not a decline in the number of people suffering from allergies, rather it has to do with the fact that generic drugs have come onto the scene to compete with the leading name brand drugs. This was possible because the patents on several of those name brand drugs expired in the middle of the decade.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 2003 and 2007
Market size: $7.5 billion and $5.1 billion respectively
Source: Medical Marketing & Media, May 2008, page 64.
Original source: IMS Health

Antipsychotic Drug Market

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Just two decades ago antipsychotic drugs were a minor part of the overall pharmaceutical business. Today, according to The New York Times article from which this market size was taken, antipsychotics lead all other drug classes in term of revenue generated. One’s first thought upon reading this may be that we must be getting way more psychotic but it turns out that these strong drugs are now prescribed for a much broader range of ills.

The top-selling brand of this drug category is Seroquel, produced by AstraZeneca. Other leading brands include Abilify, Geoden, Leponex, Risperdal and Zyprexa. Some of these drug names may be familiar to you even though they are prescription drugs and even though you may never have used one. That has to do with direct-to-consumer advertising (DTC advertising) which was made legal in the United States in 1997. Since then, we have all become far more educated about brand name prescription drugs. Interestingly, only one other nation in the world (New Zealand) allows the direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription drugs.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 2009
Market size: $14.6 billion
Source: The New York Times, October 3, 2010, page B1.

OTC Drug Market

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Within the over-the-counter (OTC) drug market in Spain, cough and cold remedies are the largest category of drugs (32.1% of the market) followed by analgesics (21.9%) and digestives (17.8%).

Geographic reference: Spain
Year: 2009
Market size: $1.7 billion
Source: Spain Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare Report, March 2010, page 70
Original source: IMS Health, Business Monitor International and the Association of European Self-Medication Industry

Compounding Pharmacies in the United States

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Data show the number of compounding pharmacies in the United States in 2010. Compounding pharmacists mix raw ingredients to prepare customized medications to meet the specific needs of patients. Between 1 and 5 percent of the population needs medications that are not commercially available. For example, compounding pharmacies can prepare gluten-free and lactose-free medications, specialized hormone therapy, or specialized doses of pain medication. Of the 400 compounding pharmacies in the United States, only 76 are nationally accredited by the Pharmacy Compounding Accreditation Board.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 2010
Market size: 400
Source: Rebecca Jones, “Custom Cures,” Wayne State, Spring 2010, page 14. The publication is accessible online here.

Specialty Pharmacies, 2011

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Data show predicted revenue for the year 2011. Specialty Pharmacies are a new type of pharmacy category. These firms offer more interactive services and emphasize their status as a health care provider more than a retail outlet. Here is a quote from a press release by Walgreens regarding their new line of Specialty Pharmacies:

“Walgreens Specialty Pharmacy provides personalized care and services through dedicated fulfillment centers across the country and electronically linked Walgreens pharmacies, including locations in academic medical centers, community hospitals and physician office buildings. Walgreens Specialty Pharmacy assists patients in obtaining medications, coordinates insurance benefits and provides individualized therapy management and clinical support. For more information, visit www.walgreenshealth.com/specialty.”

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 2011
Market size: $100 billion
Source: Rebecca Jones, “Custom Cures,” Wayne State, Spring 2010, page 13. The publication is accessible online here.
Original source: Walgreens

Prescription Drug Market

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Data show the number of prescriptions filled in the United States in 2009.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 2009
Market size: 3.5 billion
Source: Rebecca Jones, “Custom Cures,” Wayne State, Spring 2010, p. 13. The publication is accessible online here.