The market for nuclear medicine in the Asia-Pacific region is majorly driven by factors such as increasing incidents of cancer and cardiac ailments, rising application of SPECT and PET, and growing public awareness about healthcare.

Increasing incidence of cancer and cardiac ailments is the major driver of the market. Nuclear medicine shows a huge potential in treating cardiac and cancer diseases. According to Cancer Index, it is estimated that 6,763,000 new cases and 4,499,500 deaths occur every year due to cancer in the Asian region. Cardiology applications will continue to demonstrate strong growth in the market.

Strict regulatory policies are hindering the market growth in this region. Regulatory requirements pose a hurdle to translational research and clinical investigations. For example, in India, all the approvals for nuclear medicine products are given by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), and, including diagnostic radiopharmaceuticals and radio therapeutics, undergo regulatory procedures by AERB. Similarly, in other countries, such as China, have full government infrastructure and corresponding legal system for the safety of nuclear medicine/radiopharmaceuticals. There are several regulatory departments in China to ensure the safety of radiopharmaceuticals, such as the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA), China Atomic Energy Authority (CAEA), Ministry of Health (MOH), and State Environment Protection Administration (SEPA). This indicates the focus on regulation of the nuclear medicine which makes the regulation process strict.