Pharmaceutical Membrane Technology Market Overview
Globally, the pharmaceutical membrane technology market is projected to showcase notable growth during the forecast period, mainly due to increasing pharmaceutical production, rising research and development (R&D) activities, and growing demand for generic drugs in the developing nations.
Based on product, the pharmaceutical membrane technology market is sub-segmented into coated cellulose acetate, nylon, mixed cellulose ester (MCE) membrane filters, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) membrane, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane, and other membrane filters. Of these, MCE membrane filters hold the largest share in the global market, as they are biologically inert and most commonly used in analytical and research applications.
There are different types of membrane technologies that have been developed for analytical and research applications, and pharmaceutical production. These pharmaceutical membrane technologies include ultrafiltration, chromatography, microfiltration, nanofiltration, reverse osmosis, and others. Among the various types of technologies, nanofiltration is expected to observe significant growth in the coming years in the pharmaceutical membrane technology industry. The growth is mainly driven by the advancements in nanofiltration technology, and its increasing adoption by the pharmaceutical companies. Moreover, nanofiltration membranes are most commonly used in wastewater management and have the ability to remove particles as small as 0.002 to 0.005µm in diameter.
The reverse osmosis category is also experiencing significant growth in the pharmaceutical membrane technology market, as these membranes are more efficient in removing small and large ions. Reverse osmosis removes particle sizes as small as 0.1 nm, and is more capable in removing hardness, dissolved solids, radionuclides, heavy metals, sulfates, nitrates, and organic macromolecules from waste and process water streams.
These membrane technologies find application in final product processing, raw material filtration, cell separation, air purification, and water purification. The consumption of membrane filters for water purification is expected to increase in the pharmaceutical membrane technology industry during the forecast period, as these membrane filters are used for various types of water and wastewater treatment procedures in the pharmaceutical industry.
North America is expected to be the largest contributor in the global pharmaceutical membrane technology industry in the coming years, owing to the presence of large number of pharmaceutical companies, increasing prevalence of chronic diseases, and rising spending on R&D activities in the region.
Europe is expected to hold the second-largest share in the pharmaceutical membrane technology market. Increasing pharmaceutical production, presence of large number of pharmaceutical companies, and rising government support in the form of funds and grants are the major factors driving the growth of the market. According to the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA), the pharmaceutical industry invested $41.8 billion on the R&D annually, which in turn would boost the demand for pharmaceutical membrane technologies and products in the region.
However, the market in Asia-Pacific is expected to witness the highest growth in demand for these membranes during the forecast period. This is mainly due to the rapid economic growth, growing pharmaceutical industry, presence of large number of small and medium-sized pharmaceutical companies, and increasing government initiatives in the pharmaceutical R&D activities.
Pharmaceutical Membrane Technology Market Dynamics
Growth Drivers and Restraints
Growing pharmaceutical industry, rising pharmaceutical production, increasing R&D investments, and growing demand of generic drugs are some of the major factors driving the growth of the global pharmaceutical membrane technology market.
Globally, increasing prevalence of chronic and infectious diseases is fostering the growth of the pharmaceutical industry by spurring the demand of pharmaceutical products, which further plays a substantial role in the growth of pharmaceutical membrane technology industry. According to the report “The Pharmaceutical Industry and Global Health, Facts and Figures 2017”, published by the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA), the global pharmaceutical industry was valued at $997 billion in 2014.
The report also stated that the research-based pharmaceutical industry invests over $149.8 billion on R&D per year. Thus, this rise in production and research activities has increased the demand for membrane technologies which is expected to fuel the growth of pharmaceutical membrane technology market in the coming years.
Additionally, with the increasing prevalence of chronic and lifestyle diseases, and rising demand of generics drugs, the number of pharmaceutical companies has also increased in the world. This increases the demand of membrane filtration technology for the manufacturing and research activities to develop high quality pharmaceutical preparations, which in turn boosts the growth of the pharmaceutical membrane technology market. However, high operational cost and membrane fouling are some of the factors hindering the growth of the market.
Pharmaceutical Membrane Technology Competitive Landscape
Some of the key players operating in the pharmaceutical membrane technology market include Merck KGaA, Sartorius AG, General Electric Company, 3M Company, Danaher Corporation, Lenntech BV, Koch Membrane Systems Inc., and Graver technologies LLC.
The study provides historical as well the forecast market size data for various countries including the U.S., Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, U.K., Japan, China, India, Brazil, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Africa
