Oculopharyngeal Muscular Dystrophy (OPMD) Market Trends

Growth Drivers

• Expanding Geriatric Population: Elderly people are more susceptible to Oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy as they have stagnant body organs and are associated to higher muscle weakness especially after the age of 60 years making them more prone to the disorder. Thus the growing percentage of elderly people is anticipated to drive the market growth further. According to the World Health Organization, the rate of the ageing population is rising rapidly. In 2020 the population of people above the age of 60 years and older outnumbered children younger than 5 years. And the proportion of people above 60 years will nearly double from 12% to 22% in 2050.
• Introduction of New Therapies: For the treatment of Oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy, much research are being done on new therapies. Several therapeutic strategies are being developed and tested namely mammalian cells, nematode, drosophila, mouse are currently under research. The majority of them are pharmacologic approaches to reduce cell toxicity and reduce PABPN1 (gene which produces protein and is one of the main causes of OPMD). In addition to that reduction of PABPN1 by using drugs such as doxycycline or trehalose has shown improved cell survival and muscle weakness in patients.  Hence, the introduction of new therapies in the treatment of Oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy is expected to boost the oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy market growth.
• Increase in Healthcare Expenditure:  The recent growth in healthcare expenditure due to the rising economy is also one of the factors expected to spur the growth of the market. Hence, due to the rise in healthcare expenditure and reimbursement policies most people are able to afford premium healthcare treatments. For instance, The World Bank revealed that healthcare expenditure increased from 9.68% in 2020 to 10.89% of total global GDP in 2020 and is expected to grow.

Challenges

• High Costs of Treatment - Oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy is a rare genetic disorder making the drugs and different procedures used in its treatment and diagonisis very expensive as it requires technologically advanced medical products and devics. Thus, this factor is antcipated to lower the adoption rate of Oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy among the middle & lower income households as a result restricting the market growth.
• Unavailability of effective treatment of oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy.
• Lack of healthcare budget in lower and middle-income households.