Anthrax is an acute infectious disease caused by the spore-forming bacterium Bacillus Anthracis. It is highly prevalent in livestock, and can also be transmitted to humans through various routes such as cutaneous, inhalation, injection, and gastrointestinal. Cutaneous anthrax infections enter a body through a wound or other sore on the skin and cause an itchy bump that resembles an insect bite, which further develops into a painless sore with a black center.
Gastrointestinal anthrax is caused by consuming uncooked meat or raw meat, which further leads to vomiting, abdominal pain, fever, and other causes. Pulmonary anthrax develops as a result of inhaling anthrax spores that further leads to shortness of breathing and coughing up blood. Injecting anthrax is also one of the routes of transmissions as per the recently reported cases. The rising risk of anthrax-related bioterrorism and subsequently rising supportive initiatives by the government agencies across various nations, further drives the market growth.
Ongoing R & D in the area of anthrax therapeutics is also one of the key market strategies. Emergent Biosolutions, Inc and Altimune, Inc are among a few market players that are developing treatment therapies for anthrax. This R&D has been funded by various government and military organizations such as NIAID, HHS, and DoD.
Key Players
Some of the major players engaged in anthrax treatment market include Glaxo SmithKline Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Elusys Therapeutics, Inc., Emergent BioSolutions, Inc., Altimune, Inc., Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Novartis AG, and Bayer AG.
Mergers and acquisitions, R&D initiatives to develop new products, and collaborations with the government agencies are the key strategies adopted by the market players to maintain the market competitiveness. For instance, in May 2017, Altimune Inc. announced the completion of the merger with PharmAthene, Inc. Collectively, the companies would focus on developing diversified and integrated immunotherapeutic product platforms, NasoShield and SparVax-L are the therapies under development by Altimune Inc. . Moreover, in March 2017, Emergent BioSolutions, Inc signed a two-year contract with BARDA to supply in anthrax vaccine, BioThrax for the U.S. Strategic National Stockpile.
Segmental Insights
Global anthrax treatment market is segmented into route of transmission, drug class, and end-use.
By route of transmission, the market is segmented into cutaneous, inhalation, gastrointestinal, and injection. Cutaneous is the most common and highly prevalent route of transmission among the individuals having direct contact with livestock and soil.
On the basis of drug class, the global anthrax treatment market is segmented into antibiotics and immune globulins. Rising number of FDA approved therapies are driving the market growth further.
Based on end use, the anthrax treatment market is segmented into hospitals and clinics, ambulatory surgery centers, government agencies, and others. Government agencies accounted for the highest revenue share in 2018 and are expected to continue contributing the same over the forecast period.
Regional Insights
Geographically, the global anthrax treatment market is segmented into four regions: North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Latin America and the Middle East & Africa (LAMEA).
North America dominated the global market in 2018, and a similar trend is expected to follow over the forecast period. This can be attributed to rising government spending on anthrax-related bioterrorism preventing initiatives and growing collaborations with the market players.
Europe is another major region in terms of revenue share. Anthrax has been reported as rare diseases in this region. However, various stockpiling initiatives are being undertaken to raise the preparedness against the risk of bioterrorism.
Asia Pacific is projected to be the fastest growing region due to increased prevalence of the disease in recent years, and favorable initiatives taken by the local governments.
LAMEA is in the nascent stage of market growth. However, with the growing focus on developing treatment therapies against anthrax and rising risk of terrorism, especially in the MEA, represent significant growth opportunities.