SCOPOLAMINE MARKET ANALYSIS

Scopolamine, also known as hyoscine, or devil's breath, is a natural or synthetically produced tropane alkaloid and anticholinergic drug that is formally used as a medication for treating motion sickness and postoperative nausea and vomiting. Scopolamine is an oral, intravenous, ophthalmic or topical drug derived from plants of the nightshade family (Solanaceae), specifically Hyoscyamus Niger and Atropa belladonna, with anticholinergic, antiemetic and antivertigo properties. It has applications in prevention of nausea, vomiting, and dizziness associated with motion sickness and recovery from anesthesia and surgery. Scopolamine may also be used to treat certain stomach or intestinal problems, such as spastic muscle states, diverticulitis, irritable bowel syndrome, Parkinson-like conditions etc.

Global Scopolamine market is estimated to be valued at US$ 462.7 million in 2022 and is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 4.8% during the forecast period (2022-2030).

Figure 1. Global Scopolamine Market Share (%), by Dosage Form, 2022

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Increasing prevalence of motion sickness is expected to drive growth of the scopolamine market.

Increasing prevalence of motion sickness is expected to drive the global scopolamine market growth over the forecast period. For instance, according to an article published by Cureus, an open access general medical journal, in January 2021, a cross-section study was conducted in the internal medicine unit of a tertiary care hospital in multiple cities of Pakistan from June 2019 to August 2019, to find out the prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome in healthy population and determine the characteristics of symptoms. According to the results, the prevalence of Irritable Bowel Syndrome in general population was 33.2%.

Figure 2.Global Scopolamine Market Share (%), by Region, 2022

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Rise in research & development activities for developing neurotherapeutics is expected to drive the global scopolamine market growth.

Increasing research and development activities by the key players in market for the development of neurotherapeutics is expected to drive the global scopolamine market growth. For instance, in March 2022, Athira Pharma, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing neurotherapeutics, used scopolamine a novel small molecule candidate for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease dementia and Dementia with Lewy bodies, and ATH-1020, an orally available, brain-penetrant small molecule candidate for neuropsychiatric conditions. The use of scopolamine is done in symptomatic treatment of Parkinson's disease.

Global Scopolamine Market– Impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic

Since the COVID-19 virus outbreak in December 2019, the disease has spread to over 100 countries across the globe and the World Health Organization had declared it a public health emergency on January 30, 2020.

COVID-19 can affect the economy in three main ways: by directly affecting production and demand of drugs, by creating disruptions in distribution channels, and through its financial impact on firms and financial markets. Due to nationwide lockdowns, several countries, such as China, India, Saudi Arabia, U.A.E., Egypt, and others, are facing problems with regards to the transportation of drugs from one place to another.

However, the COVID-19 pandemic had a negative impact on the global scopolamine market, owing to the decrease in the number of surgical interventions resulting from chronic diseases due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. For instance, in May 2020, according to data published by National Center for Biotechnology Information, surgical practice has been significantly impacted with all special guidelines to manage crisis. The pandemic had ramifications for ways of working, surgical techniques, open vs. minimally invasive, theatre workflow, patient and staff safety, training and education. With guidelines specific to each specialty being implemented and followed, surgeons should be able to continue to provide safe and effective care to their patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. With the disruption of normal surgical practices due to workforce shortages as well as resource limitations due to COVID-19, it was important to rationalize all surgeries undertaken. Surgical teams were encouraged to offer telephone or video consultations when possible, cancel follow ups which were deemed non-essential in an attempt to minimize patient contact. Thus, the surgical procedures were reduced, which decreased the need of scopolamine transdermal patch as it was used to prevent nausea and vomiting after anesthesia, narcotic pain medicines, and surgery.

Global Scopolamine Market: Key Developments

On July 6 2022, Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc., Germany- Based pharmaceutical and life Sciences Company, launched its product Transderm-Scop (skin patch) in the retail as well as online platform market with revised formula of 1MG/72HR, which got approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Moreover, in November 2020, Riconpharma LLC, a pharmaceutical company, got approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to manufacture the generic version of Transderm-Scop (skin patch).

Global Scopolamine Market: Restraint

The major factors that hinder growth of the global scopolamine market include side effects and misuse of scopolamine. For instance, in January 2018, according to the data published in PubMed scopolamine drug is more common and easily available in Colombia, where it is used to make victims carry out sexual assaults and robberies. Furthermore, online availability of this drug at low cost is abused by sexual predators and robbers frequently in various European countries (in the U.K., scopolamine can be bought online for only US$ 12.8) might bring stringent regulations against the manufacturing and marketing of this drug in 2025 which may affected growth of the scopolamine market.

Key Players

Major players operating in the global scopolamine market include Baxter International Inc., GlaxoSmithKline plc. Novartis AG, Perrigo Company plc., Caleb Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Myungmoon Pharma Co. LTD., Alchem International, Phytex Australia, Centroflora-Cms, Alkaloids of Australia, and Fine Chemicals Corporation.