Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2021 - 2026)

The API market, by application, cardiology segment holds a significant share, due to the vast population using various CVD drugs owing to the high prevalence of cardiovascular diseases.

• According to the American Heart Association Research Report 2017, about 92.1 million American adults are living with some form of cardiovascular disease or the after-effects of stroke. According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 17.9 million people died from CVDs in 2016, representing 31% of all global deaths. Of these deaths, 85% are due to heart attack and stroke. Over three-quarters of CVD deaths take place in low- and middle-income countries.
• The oncology segment is also expected to grow significantly during the forecast period owing to the high prevalence of cancer in the last few decades, and the disease is expected to claim a more prevalent population during the forecast period.
• Market players are continously developing new APIs to cater the need in oncology segment globally. In December 2019, Dr Reddy's Laboratories launched Bortezomib for injection in the US market a generic version of Velcade of Millennium Pharmaceuticals. Bortezomib is used for the treatment of adult patients with multiple myeloma or with mantle cell lymphoma who have received at least one prior therapy.

North America currently dominates the market for active pharmaceutical ingredients and is expected to continue its stronghold for a few more years. This region is expected to increase its market share in the future, owing to the increasing incidences of disease and rising aging population. The United States holds the majority of the market in the North American region. However, the majority of its API requirements are met through imports from the Asian Markets. The US trade statistics suggest that nearly 75% to 80% of the APIs imported to the United States are from China and India, as these countries have well-established manufacturing facilities and an abundant talent pool serving the pharmaceutical sector.

The recent political and trade policies implemented by the US government to increase import duties and taxes are expected to drive operational costs and increase the pricing pressure on the manufacturers. The FDA has also increased the application fees for new drug approvals and has increased the number of periodic inspections conducted on various off-shore contract manufacturing facilities to ensure the supply of high-quality products to the US market.