Transdermal Skin Patches Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Type (Single-layer Drug-in-Adhesive, Multi-layer Drug-in-Adhesive, Reservoir Membran Patches, Microneedle Patches, Vapour Patches, Matrix Patches, Other Types), By Adhesives (Acrylic, Silicon, Hydrogel, Other), By Applications (Pain Relief, Smoking Reduction and Cessation Aid, Overactive Bladder, Hormonal Therapy, Other Applications), By Distribution Channel (Hospital Pharmacies, Retail Pharmacies, Online Pharmacies), By End Use (Homecare, Hospitals and Clinics) and By Region(North America, Europe, APAC, Middle East and Africa, LATAM) Forecasts, 2023-2031

Transdermal Skin Patches Market Size

The global transdermal skin patches market size was valued at USD 8.09 billion in 2022 and is projected to reach USD 12.78 billion by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 5.20% during the forecast period (2023-2031). 

The alternative, safest, and most convenient method for systemic drug delivery is the transdermal drug delivery system (TDDS). Systemic drug administration through the skin has several benefits, including maintaining a consistent medication level in blood plasma, reducing adverse effects, improving bioavailability by avoiding hepatic first-pass metabolism and increasing patient adherence to the drug regimen employed for treatment. For continuous medication release into the systemic circulation, the skin is now thought to be the safest route for drug administration. These patches also treat migraines, hormone imbalances, pain, cardiovascular and neurological conditions, and quitting smoking.

Transdermal Skin Patches Market Growth Factors

Transdermal medicine's benefits over oral and ingestion medicines

Modern patches called transdermal therapy systems make treatment considerably more practical than it would be with conventional drugs. Instead of taking numerous medications, patients frequently need to apply fresh patches as required. The transdermal dosage forms are an expensive alternative to traditional formulations, but the cost may decrease as innovation advances. Transdermal patches are also gaining popularity because of their unique benefits, including regulated absorption, enhanced bioavailability, and more uniform plasma levels. Transdermal medications have several forthcoming benefits, including fewer side effects, ease of application, painlessness, and the flexibility to stop drug delivery by simply removing the patch from the skin.

The regulated delivery of the drug to the patient that the transdermal patches offer, typically through a porous membrane covering a reservoir of medication contained in the adhesive, is another significant benefit. The issue of stomach drug/enzyme instability first-pass metabolism is present for both dose types. Additional problems with the oral route include unpleasant taste, odor, and color. Several new issues are developing as a result of using medications. As a result, patients encounter problems as they undergo various treatments. Even patients can occasionally stop complying. Transdermal patches are non-irritating compared to oral medications because they use continuous-release technology, allowing them to work for the appropriate amount of time.

Market Restraining Factors

Skin's inability to absorb a variety of active substances

Drugs can be delivered topically instead of orally, frequently with identical efficacy but with a better tolerability profile. To be effective, topical preparations must be absorbed by the skin and distributed to the appropriate sites in sufficient quantities. The skin is a barrier to pollutants and is an organ created to protect the body. The skin is a complex, layered tissue in contrast to the delicate membranes of the pulmonary alveoli and gastrointestinal villi. It is a barrier to most xenobiotics and comparatively impermeable to most ions and aqueous solutions. Only a tiny pool of medicines may be administered systemically at therapeutically effective rates due to the selective nature of the epidermal barrier.

Market Opportunities

Expanding resources and investments for drug research

More studies are being done on new therapies as well. The U.S. FDA approved three peptide active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), according to a study article that appeared in Pharmaceuticals in February 2020. In 2019, 48 medicines were approved, 38 of which were new chemical entities (NCEs) made up of peptides and oligonucleotides, 10 of which were biologics. The study of the administration route is becoming more critical as innovative medicines come into focus. The transdermal method is likely to benefit because many people prefer painless delivery. The US FDA allowed 208 new medications between 2015 and 2019 (150 new chemical entities and 58 biologics), 15 of which were peptides or peptide-containing compounds, making up 7% of all drugs. 

Regional Insights

North america: dominant region with 4.90% market share

North America is the significant revenue contributor and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.90% during the forecast period. In terms of the utilization of transdermal skin patches, the United States is one of the global leaders. This is mainly owing to the country's accessibility to transdermal skin patches and the presence of key players and their R&D facilities there. According to the CDC, smoking or exposure to secondhand smoke will cause roughly 500,000 early deaths among Americans in 2021. Based in the United States, Aveva is a world leader in transdermal medicine delivery. The business has a long history of supplying pharmaceutical partners with fully integrated, controlled-release transdermal treatments that deliver high-quality, reasonably priced brand counterparts or address unmet market demands.

Europe: fastest growing region with the highest cagr

Europe is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.25% during the forecast period. The country's high smoking prevalence, the rising number of transdermal research projects, rising healthcare costs, and increased product introductions contribute to the market's growth. Using its cutting-edge transdermal drug delivery technology, the British pharmaceutical company Medherant is creating breakthrough treatments for CNS disorders and pain. The company earned its first license revenues in 2019 and worked with outside parties to manufacture its medications for transdermal delivery. Nemaura Pharma, a specialized biotech company headquartered in the U.K., stated in 2018 that it had signed a license agreement with a global pharma company to create three novel transdermal patch treatments. 

In China, the high prevalence of chronic pain, rising financing and investments in pharmaceutical research, and an increase in product releases are the main drivers propelling the transdermal skin patch market expansion in that nation. A study by Zheng Yongjun et al., published in the Libyan Journal of Medicine in February 2020, reported that 31.54% of participants had chronic pain, with the majority of them living in China's northern and southern coastal regions. Additionally, a significant prevalence of chronic pain among Chinese people negatively affects their quality of life. Transdermal patches will likely become more popular shortly due to the nation's high prevalence of chronic pain.

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region comprises Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman. According to a study by Ashraf El-Metwally et al. that appeared in the journal BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, the incidence of self-reported chronic pain in the Al Kharj population in Saudi Arabia in April 2019 was 19%, with a mean age of 26.4 years. Musculoskeletal pain (56%), back pain (30%), and abdominal pain (26%) were the most prevalent types of pain. Furthermore, according to the data above, low back pain was the most common chronic pain in Saudi Arabia. The countries listed under "Remainder of the Middle East & Africa" include, among others, Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Nigeria, Morocco, Kenya, and other Sub-Saharan African (SSA) nations. 

Transdermal Skin Patches Market Segmentation Analysis

By type

the market is bifurcated into single-layer drug-in-adhesive, multi-layer drug-in-adhesive, matrix, and other types. The matrix segment is the highest contributor to the market and is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 5.45% during the forecast period. A drug layer of a semisolid matrix containing the drug solution or suspension is part of the matrix system. This patch's medication layer is partially covered by an adhesive layer surrounding it. This barrier primarily results from the unique structure of the lipid-rich matrix in which corneocytes are fixed in the highest strata of the skin, the stratum corneum. Since these patches frequently have a drug-in-matrix layer between the release liner and backing layers, they are widely utilized on the market. Depending on the properties of the skin, they offer a constant rate of diffusion.

Transdermal delivery systems for drugs-in-adhesive (DIA) are patches with a polymeric adhesive layer on which the medication is directly incorporated in a solubilized form. The drug-in-adhesive patches are the most straightforward and widely utilized form of the ISDN transdermal patches produced and reported earlier, claims a paper by Xiaoping Zhan from 2018. It is the skin patch where the adhesive layer holds the system's multiple layers together to the skin and facilitates the drug's release. There is a backer and a temporary liner around the adhesive layer.

Other kinds of patches include reservoir patches and vapor patches. Unlike the single-layer and multi-layer drug-in-adhesive systems, the transdermal reservoir system has a drug layer. The drug layer is separated physically from a liquid compartment containing a drug solution or suspension by an adhesive layer. A sticky patch that contains medicine is called a reservoir patch. The patch is placed on the skin, and a membrane allows the drug to permeate the skin and the bloodstream. A shallow compartment formed from a drug-impermeable metallic plastic laminate with a rate-controlling membrane made of a polymer such as vinyl acetate on one surface completely encloses the drug reservoir. The backing layer also supports this patch. The rate of release in this kind of system is zero order.

By application

The market is bifurcated into pain relief, smoking reduction and cessation aid, overactive bladder, hormonal therapy, and other applications. The pain relief segment owns the highest market and is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 5.15% during the forecast period. The market for non-opioid pain patches is being driven by the increased prevalence of pain-related ailments such as diabetic neuropathy, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, migraine, and other illnesses, which are present in all parts of the world. The disorder known as diabetic neuropathy refers to nerve damage brought on by diabetes. The nerves throughout the body are damaged by high blood sugar, but the legs and feet are most frequently affected. Approximately 39 million men, women, and children in the United States and 1 billion people worldwide suffer from migraine, according to the Migraine Research Foundation (2021).

Globally, there are many smokers, and people are becoming increasingly aware of the benefits of giving medications for quitting smoking via the transdermal method of administration. The fastest-growing regions are primarily in Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean, while many of the tobacco industry's most important markets are populous nations in Asia. This is mainly caused by the availability of patches known as nicotine patches. These patches are a therapy used to help individuals quit smoking. This therapy restores the body's natural nicotine supply to lessen the withdrawal symptoms associated with quitting smoking.

A frequent and abrupt urge to urinate that can be challenging to control is caused by an overactive bladder, commonly known as OAB. Over the coming years, the market is predicted to rise more rapidly due to the rising prevalence of overactive bladder and the use of transdermal patches. Urinary incontinence can happen at any age, although it is more prevalent in women over the age of 50, according to the National Association for Incontinence, Facts, and Statistics. An underlying medical problem that causes urinary incontinence may cause it to be a transient condition. Additionally, women are more likely than men to have urine incontinence.

Cardiovascular conditions, motion sickness, and neurology applications are among the further uses. Wobbliness is a common symptom of motion sickness. When traveling, it frequently happens. The market growth is projected to be boosted over time by new product launches and rising usage of motion sickness patches. For instance, scopolamine is the most popular motion sickness patch and is predicted to expand significantly. For the application of hypertension in cardiovascular illnesses, patches are frequently utilized. It is anticipated that the burden of hypertension will increase due to aging and changing lifestyles.

Recent Developments

• September 2022- Corium's Adlarity (donepezil transdermal system) became available in the U.S. with a prescription. A once-weekly patch called Adlarity delivers consistent doses of donepezil under the skin. It may benefit patients with mild, moderate, or severe Alzheimer's-related dementia.
• April 2022- The Luye Pharma Group reported that the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) of China's Center for Drug Evaluation (CDE) had approved the Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) for the company's investigational Rivastigmine Twice Weekly Transdermal Patch, which was indicated for the treatment of mild to moderate symptoms of Alzheimer's disease.