Topical Pain Relief Market Expected to Reach $12,219.7 Million by 2027

According to a new report published by Allied Market Research, titled, “Topical Pain Relief  Market by Therapeutic class, Formulation, Type and Distribution channel: Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2020–2027," the global topical pain relief market size was valued at $8,864.0 million in 2019 and is expected to reach $12,219.7 million by 2027, registering a CAGR of 5.2% from 2020 to 2027.

Topical pain relief medications are pain killers that are directly applied, rubbed, or sprayed on the skin over painful muscles or joints. They are designed to relieve pain as they are composed of different ingredients such as opioids, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS), salicylates, capsaicin, and others. These products have a heating or cooling effect that stimulate the nerves near the pain point and relieve pain. When pain is localized, patients highly prefer topical treatments as adjunctive therapy, which can be as effective as oral treatments and cause fewer side effects. 

The factors that drive the growth of the topical pain relief market include increase in prevalence of arthritis chronic pain, diabetic neuropathy, and other bone disorders, rise in geriatric population, fewer side effects caused by topical pain relief as compared to oral medications, and high adoption of topical pain relief products by sportsperson. However, topical pain relief medications can cause irritation, and these products are usually characterized by an unpleasant odor; these factors impede the market growth. Conversely, the development of an online platform for topical therapeutics and the untapped market potential in emerging economies are expected to provide lucrative growth opportunities for the market. The non-opioids segment accounted for the largest share in 2019 at around 71.4%, owing to high usage in treatment of pain and lesser side effects as compared to opioids. By type, the over-the counter pain relief segment dominated the global topical pain relief market in terms of revenue in 2019 with $35.4% million and the trend is projected to continue throughout the forecast period.

The global topical pain relief market is segmented into therapeutic class, formulation, type, and distribution channel. On the basis of therapeutic class, the market is bifurcated into non-opioids and opioids. 

The non-opioids segment accounted for the largest share in 2019 at around 71.4%, owing to higher usage in treatment of mild to moderate pain and lesser side effects as compared to opioids, increase in awareness regarding adverse effects of non-opioids, surge in number of geriatric population, growth in number of patients with chronic pain, and rise in prevalence of arthritis and other joint problems. 

According to distribution channel, the market is classified into pharmacies & drug stores, e-commerce, and retail & grocery stores. The e-commerce segment is anticipated to depict significant growth during the forecast period due to rise in preference for online purchasing of drugs over the traditional methods, increase in awareness of online pharmacy, and rise in number of internet users.

The COVID-19 outbreak is anticipated to impact the growth of the global topical pain relief market. The COVID-19 pandemic has stressed healthcare systems of the world. A huge number of clinics and pain services have undergone a decline in number of patient visits during COVID-19. Subsequently, most chronic pain facilities were deemed non-urgent, both outpatient and elective interventional procedures were limited or stopped during the COVID-19 pandemic to minimize risk of the viral spread. Patients with COVID-19 who are receiving opioids treatment can be more susceptible to respiratory depression and the absorption of fentanyl drug during transdermal administration such as fentanyl patch may increase with fever and could increase opioid side-effects. Whereas, patients who are prescribed transdermal opioids drugs shows the side effects such as sedation, nausea and vomiting, and respiratory depression. Thus, global topical pain relief market had a negative impact due to COVID-19.

Key Findings Of The Study 

• By therapeutic class, the non-opioids segment accounted for nearly 71.4% share of the global topical pain relief market in 2019
• By formulation, the patch segment exhibits fastest growth and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.5% from 2020 to 2027.
• By type, the prescription pain relief segment held largest topical pain relief market share in 2019 and is expected to remain dominant throughout the forecast period
• By distribution channel, the e-commerce segment exhibits fastest growth and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 8.1% from 2020 to 2027.
• By region, Asia-Pacific is expected to provide lucrative topical pain relief market growth opportunities and grow at a CAGR of 6.5% from 2020 to 2027.

North America accounted for the majority of the global topical pain relief market share in 2019 and is anticipated remain dominant during the forecast period. This is attributed to the early approval of topical pain relief medications and high adoption of over-the-counter pain relief products in this region. Furthermore, due to presence of majority of key players boost the growth of the topical pain relief market in the region. Asia-Pacific is anticipated to witness lucrative growth, owing to increase in affordability, surge in healthcare expenditure, and rise in awareness toward safe pain relief products in this region.