Rheumatoid Arthritis Drugs Market Expected to Reach $62,935 Million by 2027

According to a new report published by Allied Market Research, titled, “Rheumatoid Arthritis Drugs Market by Drug Class, Route of Administration, and Sales Channel: Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2020–2027," the global rheumatoid arthritis drugs market size was valued at $57,929 million in 2019, and is projected to reach $62,935 million by 2027, registering a CAGR of 2.8% from 2020 to 2027.

Rheumatoid arthritis disease is an autoimmune disorder, which causes painful and swollen joints in patients. The treatment of this medical condition involves the use of anti-rheumatic drugs. Different types of medications are involved in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, including disease-modifying anti-rheumatics (DMARDs), nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), corticosteroids, uric acid drugs, and others. Moreover, these drugs have different mechanism of action such as DMARDs slow the progression of rheumatoid arthritis and NSAIDs act on the symptoms of the disease such as pain. These drugs are available on prescription and over-the-counter.

The major factor that boosts the growth of the global rheumatoid arthritis drugs market include rise in prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis, increase in demand for rheumatoid arthritis drug therapy, surge in potential clinical pipeline candidates, rise in availability & awareness of safer drugs, surge in approvals of biosimilar drugs, and increase in geriatric population across the globe. In addition, rise in focus of pharmaceutical companies to tap the rare & specialty diseases, increase in adoption of DMARDs, favorable reimbursement policies for high-cost rheumatoid arthritis treatment products, launch of novel therapeutic agents, and increase in patient awareness toward rheumatoid arthritis are anticipated to propel the growth of the market. However, side effects associated with the medication and high costs of biological DMARD therapies are expected to act as the key restraints of the global rheumatoid arthritis drugs market. On the contrary, rise in awareness related to early screening and treatment of rheumatoid arthritis is anticipated to offer high growth potential for the growth of the market during the forecast period

Coronavirus (COVID-19) was discovered in late December in Hubei province of Wuhan city in China. Recent COVID-19 pandemic outbreak has also impacted the growth of the rheumatoid arthritis drugs market as governments in Asia-Pacific countries are using rheumatoid arthritis drugs to treat certain symptoms of this coronavirus. For instance, in March 2020, China’s National Health Commission (NHC) approved Roche’s Actemra product to treat serious COVID-19 patients with lung damage. Moreover, in May 2020, India’s Bengal state government has also recommended the use of Tocilizumab, a drug utilized to treat patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis (RA), to treat severe COVID-19 patients.

The global rheumatoid arthritis drugs market is studied on the basis of drug class, route of administration, sales channel, and region. By drug class, the market is categorized into disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs), nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), corticosteroids, uric acid drugs, and others. The DMARDs segment dominated the global market in 2019, and is anticipated to continue this trend during the forecast period. This is majorly attributed to rise in awareness related to the use of DMARDs for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, surge in prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis, and increase in obese & overweight population across the globe. In addition, rise in adoption of DMARDs as a first-line treatment for rheumatoid arthritis is another factor that contributes to the growth of the market.

On the basis of sales channel, the rheumatoid arthritis drugs market is bifurcated into prescription-based drugs and over-the-counter (OTC) drugs. The prescription-based drugs segment accounted for maximum market revenue in 2019, and is anticipated to maintain its dominant position during the forecast period, owing to rise in number of specialized hospitals worldwide, as the medical condition requires treatment from specialized medical professionals. However, the OTC drugs segment is expected to exhibit the fastest growth rate during the forecast period, owing to convenience of direct purchase, increase in innovations & developments in OTC drugs, and easy availability of OTC NSAIDs

Key Findings Of The Study 

• By drug class, the DMARDs segment held largest rheumatoid arthritis drugs market share in 2019, and is expected to remain dominant throughout the forecast period.
• On the basis of route of administration, the parenteral segment held largest rheumatoid arthritis drugs market share in 2019, and is expected to remain dominant throughout the forecast period. 
• According to sales channel, the over-the-counter drugs segment exhibits fastest growth, and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 3.2% from 2020 to 2027.
• Region wise, Asia-Pacific is expected to experience growth at the highest rate, registering a CAGR of 3.2% during the forecast period. 

North America accounted for the largest share of the global rheumatoid arthritis drugs market in 2019, and is expected to remain dominant throughout the forecast period. This is increase in R&D activities to develop novel drugs and easy availability of the rheumatoid arthritis drugs in this region. Moreover, rise in geriatric population, large number of target population with higher health awareness, availability of trained medical professionals, and supportive reimbursement policies in the healthcare system are other factors that fuel the growth of the market. However, Asia-Pacific is expected to experience the highest growth rate during the forecast period, majorly owing to rise in prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis and surge in patient awareness toward the use of rheumatoid arthritis drugs.