Driven by Demographics and Economics Subcutaneous Injection Markets to Reach 7 Billion Units in 2024

The evolution in drug-injection devices to accommodate new injectable drugs continues to change the therapeutic drug landscape. Device designers are now building on the experience of earlier generations of syringes and injectors, incorporating new design features with the aim of making the injection event more consistent across patient populations and less likely to evoke feelings of apprehension. As new injectables receive marketing approval, the global market for drug injection will reach slightly more than 7 billion devices in 2024.

Glass prefilled syringes will continue to dominate the market, accounting for 83 percent of the total. Autoinjectors, including both devices designed to accommodate standard prefilled syringes as well as custom form factor designs, will account for 11 percent. Reusable pen injectors designed to accept standard 3 mL glass drug cartridges plus prefilled disposable pens will account for five percent on a prescription basis.

An emerging device category – prefillable cyclic olefin plastic syringes – will account for slightly less than one percent of all devices in 2024. We see the major market for cyclic olefin primary drug containers to be wearable injection devices such as West Pharmaceutical’s SmartDose.

For drug self-administration devices, human factors engineering and user ergonomics are essential attributes that impact critical patient issues such as safety and patient compliance. While designers have acquired many powerful design tools during the past decade – tools that include 3D CAD design software and high-performance materials, design teams have been increasingly relying on classic end user research to define the design targets for their projects.

Prefilled devices are having a dramatic impact on the way injectable drugs are packaged for delivery. Within this segment, device design evolution continues to present drug developers with new choices. Initially dominated by glass, improvements that allow plastic syringes to meet storage stability requirements have added a new primary packaging vector. Device designs that incorporate reconstitution for lyophilized drugs – which represent a significant portion of the biologicals that have entered the market over the past five years – are also creating new opportunities.

The growing importance of therapeutic drugs that are developed for administration via injection is fostering an evolving ecosystem of designers, component suppliers, technologists, device producers, packagers and consultants that are defining the state-of-the-art for current and future injectable drug delivery. This evolution is producing new and enhanced syringes and injectors that are entering the commercial market at a rapid rate. This changing landscape represents a continual challenge to product developers, planners and marketers who must be aware of the opportunities this environment offers their own product candidates, as well as the adoption rate of new technology by competing market participants.

Drug injection device companies have significant operations and investment in materials technology and injection device fabrication and commercialization. While several major suppliers have manufacturing sites on more than one continent, even those that are based in one regional or geographic area have extensive facilities designed to handle most or all of the design/development/manufacturing cycle requirements associated with syringe and in particular prefilled syringe creation, production and commercialization.

These findings are detailed in a new and comprehensive report researched and written by Greystone Research Associates. Subcutaneous Self Injection Markets to 2024: Drugs, Devices, Therapeutics, Markets and Forecasts analyzes the seven top-level injection device categories and each of their derivative classes, their design features and the drug delivery markets that they target. It examines supply chain factors, therapeutic segments, demand drivers, market considerations and strategic factors. It analyzes therapeutic markets, provides market data and profiles market sector participants.

More information is available at http://www.greystoneassociates.org.

About Greystone

Greystone Research Associates is a medical technology consulting firm focused on the areas of medical market strategy, product commercialization, venture development and market research. We assist medical and healthcare market participants in achieving their business objectives through the creation of detailed development strategies, product commercialization programs and comprehensive market and technology research and analysis. Our market research publications are designed, researched and written to provide timely and insightful information and data on focused market segments, with the aim of providing market participants with the essential knowledge to refine and execute their marketing plans and financial targets.

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