Infectious diseases are health disorders that are caused by invasion and multiplication of infection-causing foreign organisms in a host’s body. Growth and multiplication of harmful pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites causes major infections in the host body. Infection can be transmitted through skin contact, bodily fluids, airborne particles, or touching an infected object. Anti-infective drugs are used for the treatment of infectious diseases or conditions. Anti-infective drugs act by inhibiting the growth or by eliminating the infectious agents.

Anti-infective Drugs Market: Drivers

Key players in the market are focused on new product launch, which is expected to boost the anti-infective drugs market growth. For instance, in January 2018, Melinta Therapeutics, Inc. launched its intravenous and oral formulations of Baxdela (delafloxacin) in the U.S. Baxdela is intended for the treatment of acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (ABSSSI) caused by designated susceptible bacteria including gram positive bacteria and gram negative bacteria.

Moreover, increasing prevalence of sepsis is expected to boost growth of the anti-infective drug market. Sepsis is a life-threatening condition caused by the body’s response to an infection. For instance, according to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) report, 2018, over 30 million people worldwide are affected with sepsis that leads to 6 million deaths, annually. Moreover, over three million newborns and 1.2 million children suffer from sepsis worldwide, annually.

Furthermore, increasing number of pipeline studies to develop anti-infective drugs for the treatment of rare infectious diseases is contributing to growth of the anti-infective drugs market. For instance, in January 2019, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) initiated phase 2/phase 3 clinical trial to study the safety and effectiveness of four drugs including ZMapp, Remdesivir, MAb114, REGN-EB3, in people with Ebola virus infection. The study is expected to be complete by November 2024.

However, hypersensitivity reactions associated with administration of anti-infective drugs is expected to hamper growth of the anti-infective drugs market. For instance, in 2013, Clinical Infectious Diseases reported that in the study of self-reported antibiotic allergy prevalence, there was 9.0% of patients among 411 543 outpatients had a penicillin allergy documented in their medical record in San Diego County, California.

Anti-infective Drugs Market: Regional Analysis

On the basis of region, the global anti-infective drugs market is segmented into North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa.

North America is expected to witness significant growth in the anti-infective drugs market over the forecast period. This is owing increasing expansion activities by key players in this region. For instance, in September 2018, Xellia Pharmaceuticals, a specialty pharmaceutical company that offers anti-infective drugs against serious and often life-threatening infections, started its new office in Buffalo Grove, near Chicago, Illinois to expand its sales and manufacturing capabilities within the U.S.

Furthermore, Asia Pacific is expected to witness significant growth in the anti-infective drugs market over the forecast period owing to new product launches in this region. For instance, in September 2018, Astellas Pharma Inc. launched Dafclir Tablets 200 mg (fidaxomicin) for the treatment of infectious enteritis (including pseudomembranous colitis) in Japan. Astelles has also made an agreement with Merck in 2018 for development and marketing of Dafclir in Japan.

Key players operating in the anti-infective drugs market include, Abbott Laboratories, Alcon Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Astellas Pharma Inc., AstraZeneca Plc., Bayer HealthCare AG, Alkem Labs, Pacific India Pharma Limited, Pfizer, and others.

Anti-infective Drugs Market Taxonomy

By Drug Class Type

Anti-bacterial Drugs
- B – Lactams
- Quinolones
- Macrolides
- Tetracycline
- Aminoglycoside
- Others
Anti-fungal Drugs
- Azoles
- Echinocandins
- Polyenes
- Others
Anti-viral Drugs