Anti-retroviral Drugs Market Size

Anti-Retroviral Drugs Market Analysis

The anti-retroviral drugs market is estimated to register a CAGR of 4.0% over the forecast period.

The COVID-19 pandemic impacted the growth of the anti-retroviral drug market. For instance, an article published by the journal GHSP in December 2021 reported that initially, some of the antiretroviral drugs were largely used for the treatment of COVID-19 and the rising COVID-19 infections surged the demand for these drugs. Thus, increasing COVID-19 cases led to increasing demand for antiretroviral drugs. However, in the current scenario, it is anticipated that a substantial decrease in COVID-19 cases due to the increased vaccination and availability of other drugs for COVID-19 treatment, and the studied market has lost some traction that was gained during the pandemic. However, the studied market is expected to have favorable growth due to the presence of other retrovirus infections over the forecast period of the study.

The factors driving the growth of the studied market are the rising burden of HIV, increasing investment in R&D, and an increase in the availability of novel drugs with better efficacy. For instance, in 2022, India's HIV Estimates Factsheet reported that the annual new infection (ANI) of HIV is estimated at 62.97 thousand in 2021 in India. Similarly, in July 2022 WHO reported that 38.4 million people are living with HIV in the year 2021. WHO also reported that the African region remains most severely affected, with nearly 1 in every 25 adults (3.4%) living with HIV and accounting for more than two-thirds of the people living with HIV worldwide. Also, according to WHO, HIV cases got significantly increased by 32.8% in the last two decades. Thus, rising cases of HIV are increasing the demand for antiretroviral drugs.

Also, the increased R&D expenses by various pharmaceutical companies are driving the growth of the studied market. For instance, in June 2022, GSK reported an investment of EUR 1 billion to accelerate R&D activities for the treatment of infectious diseases that disproportionately impact lower-income countries. The company reported that this research will focus on new and disruptive vaccines and medicines to prevent and treat HIV (through ViiV Healthcare), malaria, tuberculosis, and other infectious diseases, accounting for more than 60% of the disease burden in many lower-income countries. The news also reported that GSK Global Health R&D Hubs are progressing with more than 30 potential new vaccines and medicines, targeting 13 high-burden infectious diseases, including anti-retroviral drug infection. Thus, the increasing R&D expenses are driving the growth of the studied market.

Furthermore, the increasing availability of novel drugs for HIV treatment is driving the growth of the studied market. For instance, in June 2022, Gilead resubmiited new drug application for lenacapavir to the USFDA as a treatment for MDR HIV, lenacapavir is still only in phase 2 studies for treatment. Similarly, in March 2021, Gilead and MSD entered into a new partnership for developing long-acting formulations for the fight against HIV infections. Thus, such development of novel drugs and strategic collaboration between key market players are driving the growth of the studied market.

Thus, the rising burden of HIV, increasing investment in R&D, and availability of novel drugs with better efficacy contributes to the significant growth of the market. However, the side effects of drugs may slow down the growth of the study over the forecast period.