Levodopa or L-Dopa is a chemical building-block that converts into a dopamine in body. Dopamine is the chemical messenger released in brain. It mediates pleasure, cognition, and memory functions. Nearly all patients receive the dopamine precursor levodopa, which adequately control symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD) at early stage of the disease. Carbidopa is often included with levodopa-containing drugs in order to boost its efficacy by slowing down the metabolism of dopamine.

Levodopa Market Driver

Development of novel formulations and efficient drug delivery methods for levodopa are expected to drive growth of the levodopa market. For instance, a clinical study for gastric retentive Accordion Pill, an immediate drug release formulation by Intec Pharma Ltd., is ongoing in clinical phase III and is expected to complete in September 2018. Accordion Pill is a Carbidopa/Levodopa (AP-CD/LD) combinational oral drug delivery system, which is designed to improve the efficacy and safety of existing CD/LD drugs by utilizing an efficient gastric retention and specific release mechanism.

Moreover, Impel NeuroPharma Inc. is conducting phase II clinical study for INP103, a drug-device combination product containing a drug component, L-dopa, and device component I231 Precision Olfactory Delivery (POD) device. The study is expected to complete in November 2018.

Furthermore, advancement in diagnosis of Parkinson's disease (PD) progression is expected to boost growth of levodopa market. For instance, a clinical study conducted by Washington University School of Medicine, for measuring PD progression both by using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and by controlled dose of levodopa for discovering suitable biomarker of PD is currently in clinical phase I and is expected to complete in February 2019.

Levodopa Market Restraint

Shortage of drug supply in the market due to delay in manufacturing and supply of levodopa is expected to hamper levodopa market growth. For instance, Merck Sharp & Dohme Ireland (Human Health) Ltd. in September 2018, anticipated stock shortage of some Sinemet (Carbidopa/ Levodopa) products in the Irish market in near future due to global manufacturing delays in production and demand for resupply of these products.

Levodopa Market – Regional Analysis

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

North America is expected to dominate the global levodopa market, owing to approval of new products by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). For instance, in 2015, FDA approved an extended-release oral formulation of Levodopa/Carbidopa called Duopa, manufactured by AbbVie Inc., in the U.S. market. Duopa is a gel formulation of Carbidopa/Levodopa enteral suspension and is administered using a small, portable infusion pump that delivers Carbidopa and Levodopa directly into the small intestine, which continuously release over 16 hours in the body.

Europe region is expected to witness significant growth in levodopa market due to involvement of key players for marketing novel formulations in European region. For instance, Acorda Therapeutics, Inc., in March 2018, submitted a Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for INBRIJA, an investigational inhaled levodopa treatment for symptoms of OFF periods (OFF symptoms implies recurrence of symptoms such as rigidity, and tremors after long period of levodopa use) in people with PD taking a Carbidopa/Levodopa regimen.

Furthermore, in November 2015, Impax Laboratories, Inc. received European Commission (EC) marketing authorization for NUMIENT (Levodopa and Carbidopa), a modified-release oral capsule formulation for the symptomatic treatment of adult patients with Parkinson's disease in Europe region.

The key players operating in levodopa market include, Taj Pharmaceuticals Limited., Guangzhou HanFang Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Poulvet.com, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., UBM, Zhejiang Wild Wind Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., and SWAPNROOP.

Levodopa Market – Taxonomy

By Application