U.S. CONTRACEPTIVES DRUGS AND DEVICES MARKET ANALYSIS

Contraceptive Drugs and Devices – Choice to Conceive, Not Concede

As per stats released by Guttmacher Institute, there were around 61 million women in the U.S. in the childbearing age group (15-44 years) in 2014. Around 10% of these women do not use any contraceptive method. The UN estimates (2015) that unmet need for contraceptives in the North America region is 7%. Thus, there still is an untapped market in the U.S. that contraceptive manufacturers can address. Furthermore, with no-cost coverage insurance policy for sterilization, growth for U.S. contraceptive drugs and devices market is restricted.

Statistics revealed by the United Nations in 2015, mentions that sterilization is a dominant contraceptive method in regions such as North America. Intra-uterine devices (IUDs), vaginal rings, injectables, implants, combined oral contraceptives, and patches are some of the advanced contraceptive methods available in the market. Therefore, various strategies such as promotion through sales force, social media promotion, awareness campaigns, and sampling are adopted by companies marketing contraceptive drugs and devices in the U.S. Introduction of new male contraceptive products with high success rate are projected to shape the course of growth of the U.S. contraceptive drugs and devices market in the near future.

The global U.S. contraceptive drugs and devices market was valued at US$ 6,785.9 million in 2016 and is expected to expand at a CAGR of 5.6% during the forecast period (2016 – 2024)

Figure 1. U.S. Contraceptive Drugs and Devices Market, Major Brand Patent Expirations

         Source: Coherent Market Insights Analysis (2016)

Oral pills resulting in volatility in the U.S. contraceptive drugs and devices market

Private companies have high interest in selling contraceptive pills as they generate continuous revenues for them compared to one-time long acting contraceptive methods. Furthermore, patent expiration is projected to lead to a barrage of generics entering into the market, further reducing overall average cost of drugs and in turn market revenue. Global generic pharmaceutical companies such as Teva Pharmaceuticals, Lupin Laboratories and Cipla Limited are at pace to launch their generic versions. Emergency contraceptive pills are among the most popular category of pills owing to extensive promotion activities to market these products.

Favorable reimbursement scenario increasing adoption of contraceptives among low and middle-income population

Long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARC) are given complete insurance coverage by the U.S. Affordable Care Act. However, oral pills that generate sustainable revenue are of interest to market players. The availability of products and its cost in different sections of the society are affected due to public-private interest disparity.

Furthermore, the State announced insurance coverage of health and reproductive products to continue without any co-pays, co-insurance or deductibles. In addition to this, the new policy would also cover all medically essential abortion services for the U.S. population. This is a much anticipated relief for the general population in the U.S., where around 45% of all pregnancies reported are unintended (CDC, 2009-2013 study data).

Insurance coverage for devices also varies from state to state in the U.S. Few states have low Medicaid reimbursement rates than the cost of the device, while few states provide reimbursement only to those women who have been prescribed such devices. For instance, in California, dispensing of injectable contraceptives is only allowed by clinics, while Alabama, Idaho, and South California do not cover emergency contraceptive pills as part of the Medicaid programs in their respective states. Many such limitations in Medicaid coverage creates disparity in demand for certain contraceptives across regions in the U.S. Efforts to standardize the rule all over the country is expected to benefit the population at large and the overall U.S. contraceptive drugs and devices market.

Preference for modern contraceptive methods

Higher success rate and availability of reimbursement is encouraging women to opt for these methods over contraceptive pills. With increasing consumer awareness and rising accessibility to modern contraceptives methods, demand for these products is expected to increase during the forecast period. As per the United Nation’s 2015 report, 9 out of 10 married or in-union women opt for modern contraceptive methods. Furthermore, gynecologists and sexologists are recommending use of long-acting reversible contraceptives for couples who do not intend to have a child in near future, owing to their high affectivity compared to conventional contraceptives such as oral hormonal pills.