Medical Morphine Market By Route of Administration (Oral, Injectables), Application (Arthritis, Cancer, Myocardial Infarction, Kidney Stones, Diarrhea), End Users (Hospitals and Clinics, Ambulatory Surgical Centers, Homecare), Distribution Channel (Hospital Pharmacies, Retail Pharmacies, Online Pharmacies), and Region Global Forecast 2018 to 2028

The global medical morphine market size was estimated at USD 11.03 billion in 2017 and is expected to grow on account of the increasing prevalence of cancer and arthritis among the growing geriatric population across the globe. The U.S. and Europe are the two regions which are consuming morphine for medical purposes which comprises more than 85% market share. Whereas the application of medical morphine in the low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) such as Asia Pacific and the Middle East & Africa would leverage to provide improved access to essential pain medicines which is arguably the easiest and least expensive requirement need among these regions.

Morphine is also known as narcotic or opioid analgesics. Opioid analgesics relieve severe pain when it is not effective to relieve less potent pain. Among cancer patients, it has been the most widely used medication to relieve cancer pain and thus considered a centerpiece in end of life care. According to the American Cancer Society, by 2030, the global burden of new cancer cases is attributed to reaching 21.6 million and 13.0 million cancer deaths solely due to the growth and aging of the population.

It’s being expected that by 2028, the Medical Morphine market cap will hit USD 34.87 billion at a CAGR growth of about 8%. 

The American Cancer Society leads projects in Nigeria, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, and Swaziland to improve access to essential pain medicines and also supports national morphine production programs that have dramatically reduced the cost of and increased access to pain relief. The American Cancer Society is also training health workers in more than 30 teaching and referral hospitals across the five countries through the Pain-Free Hospital Initiative, a 1-year hospital-wide quality improvement initiative which is designed to change clinical practice by integrating effective, high-quality pain treatment into hospital-based services.

The morphine one of the most efficient analgesics, however, comprises major side effects. The consumption of morphine for pain-relieving acts mostly on tissues and organs such as intestinal mucosa and thus induces severe constipation with single administration in patients. Also, consumption of morphine for pain-relieving causes tolerance among patients and thus increases the amount of dependency on it after repeated administration.

According to an article published by The Guardian, in some countries, access to morphine is confined and tough as compared to some regions of the world where it is virtually inaccessible. Mexico, China, India and Nigeria fulfills 36.0%, 16.0%, 4.0% and 0.2%, respectively of the demand. In some of the undeveloped regions in the world such as Haiti, Afghanistan and African countries, access to oral morphine as an analgesics is tough to obtain.

On the basis of route of administration, the global medical morphine market is further sub-segmented into oral, injectable and others. The oral morphine market size was valued at USD 7.36 billion in 2017. The oral segment comprises the majority of the market due to its various advantages such as easy availability over the counter, preference by the patient as compared to intravenous methods.

There are generally two important issues with the medical morphine which needs to be catered, viz., firstly cost, the medical morphine is cheaper in the United States as compared to other regions of the world. And secondly, its addiction and increase in the rate of crimes in poor countries if it is made accessible in the hospitals of these regions. The majority of adults and children from poor countries live and die with the pain as there is little or no access to medical morphine.

According to the American Society of Clinical Oncology Journal, in 2009, high-income countries in North America, Europe, and Oceania consumed the majority of the global morphine. In recent years, Asia Pacific countries such as India has shown substantial progress, however, less than 1% of the Indian population has access to palliative care services. In the year 2015, more than 1000 deaths were incurred in England and Wales due to morphine which was a 26% rise as compared to 2014 and a rise of 57% as compared to 2013. Similar trends of the rising deaths caused due to morphine were encountered in Ireland, Scotland, and Turkey.

According to an article by The Journal of Pain and United Nations International Narcotics scanner Control Board, Americans consume the most prescription opioids than any other country in the world. The United Nations data between 2012 and 2014 compared with the standard daily doses of opioids consumed per capita in Italy, France, and the United States. The data showed that per capita consumption in Italy, France, and the United States was 6,246; 8,706 and 50,142, respectively. The number of patients suffering from chronic pain is nearly similar in the regions mentioned, despite that the United States consumes six to eight times as many opioids analgesics.

The global medical morphine market is marked by the presence of well-established pharmaceutical companies. Key players within the market include Verve Health Care Ltd, Johnson Matthey, Pfizer Inc., Purdue Pharma L.P., Alcaliber S.A, MANUS AKTTEVA, IKARIA Canada Inc., a Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals company, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd, Taj Pharmaceuticals Limited, Northeast Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd (NEPG) and many more.

In April 2014, Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals which is a leading global specialty pharmaceuticals company entered into a definitive merger agreement to acquire Questcor. Questcor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. which is a global conglomerate actively involved in offering anxiety treatment for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.

Medical Morphine Market Scope

Key segments of the global medical morphine market

Route of Administration Overview (USD Billion)

• Oral
• Injectables
• Others

Indication Overview, (USD Billion)

• Cancer
• Arthritis
• Others

Regional Overview, (USD Billion)

• North America
  • US
• Europe
  • Germany
• Asia Pacific
  • China
  • India
• Rest of the World