The Global Urological Disorders Market is Forecast to Exceed $10 billion by 2017

Tuesday 10 April 2012, Amsterdam

The report analyzes the markets for urological disorders in the US, the top five countries in Europe (the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain) and Japan. Treatment usage patterns, sales, prices and volumes are forecast until 2017 for the key geographies as well as the leading therapeutic segments. The report also provides competitive benchmarking for the leading companies and analyzes the mergers, acquisitions and licensing agreements that have shaped the global markets.


The Global Urological Disorders Market is Forecast to Exceed $10 billion by 2017

In 2010, the global urological disorders market was estimated to be worth $8.1 billion, representing a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 7.9% between 2002 and 2010. In the same year, Urinary Incontinence (UI) and Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH) combined accounted for 79% of the total urological disorders market with revenue of $6.5 billion. Solifenacin and tolterodine for UI and dutasteride and tamsulosin for BPH dominated the market in 2010 and generated $0.9 billion and $2 billion respectively.

See figure: Urological Disorders Therapeutics to 2017, Global, Revenue Forecasts ($bn), 2002-2017

The global urological disorders market is expected to witness a series of patent expiries between 2009 and 2017 which will include most of the top selling blockbuster drugs in the UI, BPH, Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) and Interstitial Cystitis (IC) markets.

Important drugs that have recently lost patent protection include Flomax (tamsulosin, 2009) and Levaquin (levofloxacin, 2010). Those set to lose patent protection in the forecast period include Uroxatral in the US (alfuzosin, 2011), Detrol (tolterodine, 2012), Avodart (dutasteride, 2015), Enablex (darifenacin, 2015) and Ditropan XL (oxybutynin, 2015).

The current urological disorders pipeline does offer some promising novel products, namely URG101, YM178, NX-1207, PRX302 and PSD597, indicated for different segments of the market. The revenues generated from these products are not however expected to completely make up for the revenue losses incurred from patent expiries. Thus, the market is expected to show slow growth during the forecast period.


Patent Expiries of Leading Drugs is Expected to Erode the Market Share of Top Five Players that Currently Occupy 72% of the Market

Johnson & Johnson, Boehringer Ingelheim, Astellas Pharma, Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline together account for 72% of the total market. Johnson & Johnson leads with 18% market share, and its drugs Levaquin and Elmiron have particularly strong presence in the UTI and UI markets respectively. Boehringer Ingelheim occupies 17% of the market share with its drug Flomax widely used for the treatment of BPH. Astellas Pharma accounts for 15% of the market with its drugs Harnal (brand name of Flomax in Japan) and Vesicare (co-marketed with GSK). Pfizer has 11% market share. Detrol is the most prescribed branded drug worldwide for treating the symptoms of Overactive Bladder (OAB), namely urinary frequency, urgency and incontinence. GlaxoSmithKline accounts for 11% of the market; it markets Avodart, and has significant presence in the global BPH market. Other players include Novartis, Sanofi, Bayer, Allergan, Merck and Mutual Pharma.

The top players’ market share is expected to change in the future, due to the fact that Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer have registered negative growth of late. Pfizer introduced Toviaz into the IU market in 2008 with a view to replacing the predicted loss of revenue from the patent expiry of Detrol in September 2012. Johnson & Johnson is losing the market in UTIs, with the patent expiry of Levaquin in 2010. Boehringer Ingelheim holds second position in the market, its BPH drug Flomax (tamsulosin) lost its patent exclusivity in the US in October 2009. Astellas Pharma markets Harnal (tamsulosin) and in Japan and in some of the European and Asian markets.

GlaxoSmithKline on the other hand has shown positive growth it has marketed Vesicare along with Astellas Pharma in the US till 2010.


M&A Deals Landscape in the Urological Disorders Market is Dominated by Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs)

The M&A deals landscape in the urological disorders market is dominated by UTI with 50% share followed by BPH with a 32% share. UI and IC accounted for approximately 16% and 2% of deals respectively. The market showed good M&A activity with increased participation from mediumsized players.