One of the popular forms of medical speciality, nuclear medicines involves application of radioactive substances in treatment of various diseases and disorders. Also known as radiopharmaceuticals, these drugs contain radio-emitting ionizing radiation, which helps them diagnose diseases and provide suitable treatment. Accurate understanding about the diseases and effective treatment are the two major advantages of nuclear medicines, which make them one of the breakthrough drugs in recent times. Rising demand and evolving technology in the healthcare industry are the strongest driving factors for the global nuclear medicine market, which is aiming at steady growth in terms of revenue and global adoption.
Segmentation and Market Trends
Nuclear medicine market is segmented into two major sections, namely, therapeutic and diagnostic; wherein diagnostic segment dominates around 85% of the total market shares. Both these segments are further categorized based on the types of medicines, their applications and demands. Based on these segments, experts claim that the therapeutic market is mainly dominated by beta emitters for oncology applications. Diagnostic market on the other hand is dominated by radioisotopes. Persistent side effects of the traditional cancer treatments like chemotherapy, surgery and drugs are said to be the strongest driver for the therapeutic segment of the market for nuclear medicines. Radiopharmaceutical therapy on the other hand is expected to benefit from the consistent innovations in the market.
Nuclear Medicine Industry Forecasting
According to the market research reports, nuclear medicine market will keep progressing at an estimated compound annual growth rate of 7.8% from 2012 to 2017. At the estimated CAGR, the market will grow from $3.8 billion in 2012 and is poised and is anticipated to be valued at $5.5 billion by the end of 2017. As mentioned before, radioisotopes and oncology applications are expected to be the strongest trading segments of the global market. During the forecasting period, stable isotopes market is expected to maintain healthy CAGR of over 10%, while beta emitters segment will maintain a healthy growth rate at estimated CAGR of over 5% during the forecasting period. According to the research, North America is expected to dominate the global market in terms of revenue, demand and technological advancements.
Increasing applications, rapid adoption of radiopharmaceuticals and constant innovations in applications are some major drivers for nuclear medicine market to maintain steady growth across different geographic regions. Governmental reforms across emerging markets are also creating better prospects for the industry within those regions.
