KNEE CARTILAGE REPAIR MARKET ANALYSIS

Cartilage is a tough and elastic material, which acts as a connective tissue present in various parts of the body. Knee cartilage is a fine, elastic cushion-like tissue holding together the bones of knee joints. The knee cartilage is integral to the body as it helps reduce friction between knee joints, acts as a shock absorber, and provides support during physical activity.  However, damage can be caused during sports activities, monotonous use of the joint, congenital abnormalities and hormonal disorders that affect joint development.

Various procedures for damaged knee cartilage repair involve filling the cartilage pothole with repair tissue, to help heal the cartilage. Larger defects are treated with autologous chondrocyte transplantation or osteochondral allograft transplantation, while smaller defects are treated with autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI), osteochondral autograft transfer, and marrow stimulating techniques.

The growing trend of sports activities and outdoor events among the young and old generation, has increased the risk of knee injuries, with a higher prevalence among sports players. This in turn, is expected to fuel the knee cartilage repair market in the future. Due to unhealthy lifestyle and excess consumption of junk food, the obese population has rapidly increased throughout the world. Obesity, a very common cause of knee cartilage damage, helps drive growth of the knee cartilage repair market.

Growing trend in sports activities is expected to fuel the knee cartilage repair market in future

According to World Health Organization (WHO) 2014, over 1.9 billion adults aged 18 years and older were reported as overweight, from which over 600 million adults were obese. Overall, around 13% of the world’s adult population (11% of men and 15% of women) were obese in 2014 and 39% of adults aged 18 years and above (38% of men and 40% of women) were overweight. The global prevalence of obesity doubled between 1980 and 2016. The increasing obese population is expected fuel the knee cartilage repair market over the forecast period.

According to a research conducted in 2016, 83% of the population aged 16 or older reported exercising at least once a week, revealing that the level of physical activity among the population has rapidly increased. The growing trend of sports and outdoor activities has increased the chances of cartilage injuries due to lack of use of protective equipment. This poses as a positive growth factor for the knee cartilage repair market, and is expected to drive more growth over the forecast period.

Busy lifestyle of the urban population, has resulted in limited physical activity and intake of unhealthy diet, resulting in excess weight gain, thus making knee cartilage more susceptible to injuries and damage. This helps fuel the knee cartilage repair market. The major factor inhibiting market growth is the high costs of knee cartilage repair procedure.

The global knee cartilage repair market is segmented on the basis of treatment modality, applications, end-user, and geography.

On the basis of treatment modality, the knee cartilage repair market is segmented into 

• Cell based approaches
  • Chondrocyte transplantation
  • Growth factor technology
  • Stem cells 

• Non-cell based approaches
  • Tissue scaffolds
  • Cell-free composites

On the basis of application, the knee cartilage repair market is segmented into

• Hyaline cartilage
• Fibrocartilage

On the basis of end-users, the knee cartilage repair market is segmented into

• Orthopedic hospitals
• Orthopedic surgeons
• Clinics

Increasing prevalence of obese population in the U.S. is expected to boost the knee cartilage repair market over forecast period

Regional segmentation of knee cartilage repair market by Coherent Market Insights, comprises of North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa. North America is expected to hold a dominant position in the knee cartilage repair market due to rapid increase in obese population in the region. According to Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Obesity Update 2017 reported that the U.S. recorded the highest obese population in the world, with a 38.2% obese people, and Mexico, the second highest, with 32.4% obese people. Europe is estimated to closely follow North America in terms of growth due to increase in sports and outdoor activities in the region.

Emerging companies to target untapped market to boost company revenue

Key players in global knee cartilage repair market include DePuy (Johnson & Johnson), Sanofi Aventis, Biomet, Anika Therapeutics, Genzyme, Advanced Technologies and Regenerative Medicine, Smith and Nephew, CellGenix, BioTissue Technologies, Zimmer, and EMD Serono.