NEEDLE-FREE INJECTION SYSTEM MARKET ANALYSIS

Needle-free injection system is an innovative way to introduce medication into a patient’s body. Unlike the conventional needle injection system, needle-free injection do not penetrate through the skin. Needle-free injection system is steadily emerging as an efficient way to administer the medication with better patient compliance. There are various advantages offered by needle-free injection system. This system offers efficiency in administration of medication with better patient compliance especially for children (vaccination), geriatric patients (palliative and other care), and patients with chronic diseases such as diabetes, GI tract disease, and multiple sclerosis who need daily injection administration. Self-medication becomes convenient with needle-free injection due to increased confidence amongst user for self-medication and therefore it offers better treatment adherence and improved quality of life. Besides, according to a study published in 2018 (in PubMed), needle phobia affects at least 10% of the population which be managed by reassurance, education, and avoidance of needles. Moreover, needle-free injection system allows drug delivery of even viscous drug, which is difficult with conventional needle syringe system. Needle-free injection system also allows efficient delivery of biological drugs, which are unstable due to risk of protein denaturation. This is possible as needle-free injection system maintains biological integrity and it does not have silicon oil or tungsten material in its primary container. It is reusable and delivers drug faster, as compared to conventional needle syringe system due to hair size jet stream through which drug is administered.

Market Dynamics

Needle-free injection system is continuously expanding its market footprint on account of various factors. Increasing incidence of needle associated injuries and needle phobia amongst children and adults is expected to drive growth of needle-free injection system market. According to a study published in Behavioral Neurology, 2014, around 3-4 % of the world population faces needle phobia. This impacts their hospital or clinic visits, as they avoid visiting such facilities due to fear of exposure to needles. Needle phobia also impacts the vaccination amongst children, as most of them perceives injecting vaccine as a painful procedure. According to a study published in the Clinical Journal of Pain in 2015, there were 12 billion vaccination every year worldwide, most of which required injecting drug with a needle syringe system. Increasing demand for vaccines and other biologic products is another factor boosting growth of the needle-free injection system market. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) 2018, globally around 86% of infants are vaccinated against 26 diseases, however, 19.5 million children are unvaccinated leading to death of 2-3 million children every year. Chronic disease such as diabetes often needs daily dose of insulin, which has to be administered through pain needles. This may lead to lack of adherence to treatment due to lack of confidence to self-inject insulin. Increasing research on biologics and biosimilar is another factor expected to fuel growth of the market. Biologicals are increasingly launched and prescribed to treat disease such as GI tract disease (ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease), central nervous system associated disease (multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer’s disease), and cancer. Other factors such as increasing incidence of communicable diseases caused due to conventional needle, increasing geriatric population worldwide who need palliative care, and growing awareness about safe injection practices are also expected to drive growth of needle-free injection system market.

However, per unit cost of needle-free injection may restrain the market growth. As this system is relatively new and do not have wider penetration yet, its use is still very limited. Moreover, developing economies where vaccine need is increasing with growing population would find it difficult to access this product.

Regional Insights

On the basis of geography, the global needle-free injection system market is segmented into North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa. North America is a dominant region in the global needle-free injection system market. This is due to high prevalence of chronic diseases such as diabetes and cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, 2018, cancer is the second leading cause of death after cardio vascular disease in the U.S. Furthermore, around 1.7 million new cancer cases were reported by 2017 in this region. Rising number of biologic drug approval in the U.S. is another factor driving growth of needle-free injection system market. For instance, according to the data published by the U.S. FDA (United States Food and Drug Administration) in the year 2017, more than 20 biologic formulation received FDA approval. Asia Pacific is witnessing high growth in the needle-free injection system market, as vaccine need is highest in this region. Moreover, this region has high prevalence of lifestyle disease such as diabetes. According to the 2017 Diabetes Atlas report, there were over 240 million diabetes patients in this region.

Competitive Landscape

Some of the key players operating in the market include Antares Pharma, Inc., Endo International plc, Portal Instruments, Inc., Zogenix, PharmaJet, Bioject Medical Technologies Inc., Medical International Technology, Inc., PenJet Corporation, INJEX Pharma AG, National Medical Products Inc., Valeritas, Inc., European Pharma Group, and Crossject SA.

Collaborations amongst companies to develop the needle-free injection system would also boost growth of needle-free injection system market. For instance, in November 2017, Takeda Pharmaceutical and Portal Instruments entered into collaboration agreement to develop the needle-free drug delivery device with the Takeda Pharmaceuticals biologic medicines for hepatitis, Crohn's disease etc.

Market Taxonomy

On the basis of product type:

• Prefilled
• Fillable

On the basis of delivery site:

• Subcutaneous Injectors
• Intramuscular Injectors
• Intradermal Injectors

On the basis of product lifecycle:

• Disposable
• Reusable

On the basis of technology:

• Jet-based needle free injector
• Spring-based needle free injector
• Laser-powered needle free injector

On the basis of application:

• Vaccine and other biologic product delivery
• Insulin Delivery
• Others

On the basis of end user:

• Hospitals & Clinics
• Home based care

On the basis of geography:

• North America
• Latin America
• Europe
• Asia Pacific
• Middle East
• Africa