Intravenous to Subcutaneous Drug Repositioning Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Product (Devices, Drugs), By Therapeutic (Cardiology, Oncology, Pulmonary arterial hypertension, Hematology, Others), By End-user (Hospitals and clinics, Research facilities, Others) and By Region(North America, Europe, APAC, Middle East and Africa, LATAM) Forecasts, 2024-2032

Market Overview

The intravenous to subcutaneous drug repositioning market size was valued at USD 22,725 million in 2019 and is expected to grow with a CAGR of 4.6% during the forecast period, 2020–2031. 

It is generally believed that the impact of drug repositioning is profitable and sustainable to the pharmaceutical drug market. The development of drug repositioning is expected to offer propitious solutions to a myriad of health problems. The pharmaceutical and biotech markets have been observing intense competition in the last few years. Thus, drug lifecycle management has become a fundamental factor in drug product management. Market players are focusing on attaining patent rights protection to gain a competitive edge.

Drug repositioning involves the investigation of existing drugs for new therapeutic applications. It is a cost and time-saving approach as it directly goes to preclinical testing and clinical trials, reducing the risk of failure. It is an important strategy followed by market players to extend intellectual property (IP) benefits. Recently, it was introduced in the there-engineering of drugs from intravenous to the subcutaneous route of administration, which has become a breakthrough development in the parental drug cycle management market.

Market Dynamics

Advantages Offered by IV-to-SC Drug Repositioning

IV-to-SC drug repositioning is cost-efficient and shows less negative results during clinical studies and easy validation of preclinical and clinical studies. These drugs are approved for bioequivalence studies and not for long term clinical processes.

Subcutaneous injections are witnessing huge popularity among the patients over intravenous drug administration as they are less painful and cause minimum skin sensitivity issues such as irritation. Technological advancement in subcutaneous injectors is gaining popularity as it reduces hospital visits. Currently, a wide variety of wearable subcutaneous injectors are available in the market. These subcutaneous injectors are prefilled devices that prove safe and efficient when self-administered by the patient.

Significant Reduction in Cost & Rapid Drug Development

The development of new drugs is a complex process, requiring high investment with low success rate. As per James Black, a Nobel Prize winner in medicine, on average, introducing a new drug in the market costs about USD 3.5 billion, with 90% chances of failure in clinical trials, and the process takes about 10 to 15 years. A significant decline in new drug approval for clinical use has been observed in the last decade. To address this situation, market players are performing extensive R&D activities and investing heavily in drug repositioning.

Rising Efforts by Biopharmaceutical Companies & Contract Research Organizations

Biopharmaceutical companies and contract research organizations (CROs) are channelizing efforts to offer a variety of drug repositioning services, such as in-vitro testing, cell-line screening, protein-protein interaction studies, and phenotypic screening of animal model. Drug repositioning research is also supported by philanthropic organizations such as Cures Within Reach (CWR), the Mindset Foundation, and Mitacsthat are heavily funding drug positioning research laboratories. IBIS World reported that, currently, more than 4,000 CROs and about 50,000 employees are functioning in the U.S. for drug repositioning related services.

Regional Analysis

Well-Developed Research Infrastructure and Presence of CROs Drives North America’s Intravenous to Subcutaneous Drug Repositioning Market

North America leads the intravenous to subcutaneous drug repositioning market during the forecast period 2020–2029 on account of the rising spending on R&D activities. The region is also backed by the presence of leading pharmaceutical companies. The U.S. dominates the regional market. The country is bolstered with well-developed research infrastructure and the presence of a large number of CROs and biotech companies operating in the market. Additionally, the National Institute of Health (NIH) and the U.S. Department of Health are granting approvals for drug repositioning, which is further driving the regional market growth.

Germany Dominates the European Intravenous to Subcutaneous Drug Repositioning Market

Europe ranks second in the intravenous to subcutaneous drug repositioning market on account of the rising adoption of intravenous to subcutaneous drug repositioning, increasing R&D activities, and technological advancements. The U.K., Germany, France, Italy, and Spain are the leading market contributors to the regional market. Germany dominates the regional market due to the presence of robust research facilities and leading biotech companies.

Asia-Pacific:  Home to Robust Healthcare Infrastructure

Asia-Pacific is the fastest-growing intravenous to subcutaneous drug repositioning market. The rising R&D expenditure, improving healthcare infrastructure, increasing the number of clinical trials, and growing presence of MNCs drive the regional market. China dominates the regional market due to rising investments in the field, presence of robust healthcare infrastructure, surging research activities and public-private partnerships, and governmental support.

Low investments in Research Activities to Hamper South America’s Intravenous to Subcutaneous Drug Repositioning Market

South America is projected to witness slow growth in the intravenous to subcutaneous drug repositioning market due to low investments in research activities, poor healthcare infrastructure, lack of government support, and late technology adoption. Brazil is expected to gain momentum on account of the increasing demand for cost-effective and generic drug products and developing healthcare infrastructure.

Government Initiatives Drives the Middle East and Africa’s Intravenous to Subcutaneous Drug Repositioning Market

The adoption of subcutaneous injectable drugs is witnessing a significant rise in the Middle East and Africa to address the rising prevalence of cancer, diabetes, obesity, Alzheimer’s, and drug-resistant infectious diseases. In South Africa, the rising prevalence of infectious and chronic diseases is boosting the development of repositioned drugs. Additionally, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is performing extensive research activities to support the development of repositioned drugs.

Segmental Analysis

Rising Need for Cost-Effective Drugs to Drive the Drug Product Segment

By drugs, the market is segmented into cancer drugs, blood factors, immunoglobulin G, antibiotics, and remodeling. The drug segment is expected to hold the largest market share due to the rising need for cost-effective drug options. In line with this, pharmaceutical and biotech companies are repositioning their approved drugs for different indications. The cost-efficiency of these drugs can be attributed to the previously accumulated pharmacology, toxicology profile, and pharmacokinetics data. For instance, in 2017, out of 113 new drug applications, about seven were novel drugs and 63 were repositioned drugs.

The devices segment is further segregated into wearable SC injectors and wearable SC infusers. The wearable SC injectors segment holds significant market share on account of the increasing adoption of these devices by patients suffering from diabetes and cardiovascular disorders. They also enable painless drug delivery and minimal skin irritation issues.

Oncology Segment to Gain Traction during the Forecast Period

By therapeutic, the market is segmented into cardiology, oncology, pulmonary arterial hypertension, and hematology. The oncology segment is expected to gain traction during the forecast period on account of the increasing prevalence of cancer and the rising demand for painless and immediate drugs. The antibiotics segment holds maximum market share due to the increasing number of drug repositioning activities in the last few years.

Hospital and Clinics Segment Driven by the Rising Adoption of Subcutaneous Parental Drug Administrations

By the end-user, the market is segmented into hospitals and clinics and research facilities. The hospitals and clinics segment is expected to hold the largest market share due to the rising adoption of subcutaneous parental drug administrations. The research facilities segment is projected to grow at a significant rate owing to their cost-effectiveness and rising governmental and private funding available for research.

Recent Developments

• In February 2020, United Therapeutics launched Remodulin, Remunity™, and is expected to be available by July 2020.
• On April 30, 2018, United Therapeutics acquired SteadyMed for USD 216 million. Treprostinil Sodium developed by SteadyMed is used for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension.