Glaucoma and retinal diagnostic equipment generated nearly 50 percent of the revenues in the entire ophthalmic diagnostic equipment market in 2008. As populations age worldwide and as access to improved healthcare increases in many regions, markets for this specialized diagnostic equipment will grow, particularly in rapidly developing nations. New diagnostic technologies are also providing an unprecedented level of visualization, revealing the intricate layers of the retina and the optic disc with greater clarity and detail than ever before. These and other technologies are refining disease monitoring, providing more accurate measurement, and serving as improved guides for treatment.
This is a very exciting time in the retinal products market. While pharmaceutical therapies have transformed the retinal treatment paradigm, investigational devices are also promising to restore some sight to those who have lost much of their vision. New tools and technologies have mixed with burgeoning demand to create significant opportunity in this rapidly transforming market.
Demand for retinal treatments is soaring, spurred by rapid growth in elderly populations, increases in diabetes, greater access to medical care in emerging economies, and higher quality-of-life expectations among the aging. New anti-VEGF therapies are successfully treating vision-threatening retinal diseases that, in the recent past, had been largely untreatable. Investigational pharmaceuticals and biologics are making progress in halting the relentless progression of blinding retinal diseases. The retinal treatment paradigm has shifted, and a wealth of new science, business acumen, and bioentrepreneurial activity promise further transformations.
The aging of the global population will lead to steady increases in ophthalmic surgery during the next five years. This and rising concerns over cross-contamination are key factors that will drive growth in the single-use ophthalmic surgical products market during the period. New technologies and products such as refractive IOLs will add to the mix of market drivers, as will the increased demand for labor-saving devices, which has been spurred by a growing shortage of ophthalmologists and nurses.
Market Scope expects the global ophthalmic single-use surgical products market to generate $1.95 billion in revenues in 2009, and we forecast that the market will climb to $2.5 billion by 2014, representing a compounded annual growth rate of 5.1 percent.
An aging global population, rising affluence, and expanded access to eye care plus increased computer use and more effective dry eye products are expected to fuel double-digit compounded growth in the dry eye products market during the next five years. We expect much of this growth to occur in the pharmaceutical segment where new pipeline therapies are poised to join two very successful commercialized Rx products.