Onychomycosis is a fungal infection of the toenails or fingernails that may involve any component of the nail unit. Therapeutic options for onychomycosis include oral antifungal medicines, topical antifungal drugs, laser therapy, and physical interventions. For treatment, drugs remain the first-line treatment choice and hold a major market share owing to the consistently high success rate. A laser treatment offers more promising therapy to treat onychomycosis in diabetics, elderly patients with drug intolerance, and people with kidney and liver disease due to lesser side effects associated with it. The newer generation of oral antifungal agents (itraconazole and terbinafine) has replaced older therapies in the treatment of onychomycosis.
Market Statistics:
The Global Onychomycosis Treatment Market is estimated to account for US$ 3,008.5 Mn in terms of value by the end of 2022.
Drivers:
Increase in demand for safe and effective treatment around the world is expected to propel growth of the global onychomycosis treatment market over the forecast period. For instance, with the rise in prevalence of onychomycosis and increase in awareness among people, the demand for safe and effective treatment is also increasing rapidly. In July 2022, Zydus Lifesciences received approval from the U.S. health regulator (Food and Drug Administration) to market antifungal Efinaconazole Topical solution. Efinaconazole is an antifungal used for the topical treatment of Onychomycosis of the toenails due to Trichophyton rubrum and Trichophyton mentagrophytes.
Opportunities:
Increase in prevalence of onychomycosis, especially in geriatric population, worldwide is expected to offer significant growth opportunities for players in the global onychomycosis treatment market. For instance, onychomycosis occurs in about 10 percent of the adult population, with older people more frequently affected. Males are affected more often than females. According to World Health Organization (WHO), by 2030, one in six people in the world will be aged 60 years or over, and the world’s population of people aged 60 years and older will double (around 2.1 billion) by 2050. Globally, the population aged 65 and over is growing faster than all other age groups.
Restraints:
Availability of alternative treatment options and side effects of onychomycosis treatment/drugs is expected to hamper growth of the global onychomycosis treatment market. For instance, some of the most common side effects are redness, rash, itching, diarrhea, mild burning sensations, feeling sick, indigestion, abdominal pain, and change in taste. However, these side effects are usually mild and last only for a short time. Moreover, availability of alternative treatment options, such as Vicks Vapour Listerine and tea tree oil for the treatment of nail infections is also expected to restrain the growth of the global onychomycosis treatment market.