An auto-immune disorder, alopecia was once amongst the lesser treated skin conditions. But today, with the immense amount of research and development and a growing awareness about the disorder, the market for alopecia drugs has expanded globally. Unhealthy diet, sedentary lifestyle, hormonal imbalance and ageing are some of the primary causes of alopecia. The fact that analysts at Technavio expect the global alopecia drugs market to record a CAGR of more than 5% by 2020 demonstrates how widespread the disorder is.

Typically, alopecia drugs fall into three categories – oral, topical and injectable, with topical drugs holding the major share of the drug market. When seen from a geographical perspective, in 2015 the Americas dominated the global alopecia drug market, followed by EMEA and the APAC regions. Also, it is expected that, in the next 5 years, the Americas will hold more than 50% share of the global alopecia drugs market.

Major drivers of alopecia drugs market in the Americas

Changes in lifestyle

Regarded as one of the most important drivers of the alopecia drugs market, lifestyle changes such as physical inactivity and stress have led to an increase in the number of alopecia patients, particularly in the Americas. Physically inactive people are more susceptible to developing insulin resistance when compared with active individuals. Over a period of time, this insulin resistance results in higher levels of androgens in the body, which in turn affects hair cell production. Increased physical stress, alcohol consumption and smoking are other major factors which interrupt the normal cycle of hair growth. Not only is the hair growth cycle effected, these habits also cause digestive imbalances, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), diabetes, thyroid problems and metabolism complications. All of these health issues ultimately trigger alopecia and thereby lead to an increased use of alopecia drugs.

Impact of Alcohol On Hair Loss

Source: Technavio

Success of approved therapies

Even though the number of approved therapies for alopecia is only two, the high success rate of these therapies has boosted the market for alopecia drugs. The only two approved drugs for alopecia available at present are:

1. Minoxidil (Topical)
2. Finasteride (Oral)

The success of these two drugs in the Americas is very high, which explains why they have a high rate of consumption in the region. Recently, a drug known as AVODART made its entry into the Australian, Japanese and South Korean markets. Once the impact of this drug is quantified and gains approval in the US market, the growth of the alopecia drug market will be further boosted at the global level.
 

Popularity of OTC and off-label drugs

With only two approved therapies, off-label and OTC (over-the-counter) drugs are being extensively used by individuals. Usage of approved drugs is classified as 'off-label' when the same drug is used for unapproved clinical indication or extension to a milder form of approved indication or related conditions. AVODART, an approved drug for prostate cancer, is an example of an off-label drug for Alopecia. Likewise, JAK (Janus kinase) inhibitor drugs have shown positive results in the treatment of alopecia in pre-clinical studies. Recently, it has been discovered that arthritis medicines also assist in treating alopecia. Thus, these off-label drugs, which are yet to gain approval and might even have some major side effects, do play a helpful role in fueling drug sales for alopecia market.

In the Americas, it is the US that is the major revenue contributor to the alopecia drugs market. As governments in this region have established regulatory support for developing innovative alopecia drugs, the number of vendors in the global alopecia drug market will also increase.

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