Global Nuclear Medicine Market Size 2018 by Type (Tc-99, I-131, F-18, Lu-177, Y-90, Others), Diagnostics (SPECT, PET), Application (Oncology, Neurology, Cardiology, Others), Region and Forecast 2016 to 2026

Nuclear medicine uses radiation to deliver information about the functioning of a person's organ of interest to treat a disease. There is extensive awareness about the use of radiation and radioisotopes in medicine, mainly for the diagnosis of various medical conditions. In developed countries about 1 in 50 people use diagnostic nuclear medicine every year. About 10,000 hospitals globally use radioisotopes in medicine of which 90% of the procedures are for diagnosis. The most versatile radioisotope used in diagnosis is technetium-99 with approximately, 40 million procedures per year, accounting for more than 75% of all nuclear medicine procedures globally. The frequency of using diagnostic nuclear medicine in developed regions, which account for 26% of world population is about, 1.9% per year. Over, 20 million nuclear medicine procedures are performed every year in the U.S., 10 million procedures in Europe and 560,000 procedures in Australia. The global nuclear medicine market is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 10.1% by 2025.

The prime, worldwide isotope suppliers are, Nordion in Canada, Isotop-NIIAR in Russia, Curium with its presence in France and USA, ANM (ANSTO) in Australia, IRE in Europe and NTP in South Africa.

Research Reactors Producing Medical Radioisotopes

        Source: World Nuclear Association

Considering the growing demand for nuclear medicines, particularly in cancer treatment and diagnostics, Curium has partnered with NRG for the production of Molybdenum-99, the base material for Technetium-99 generators. Furthermore, in early 2019, 64Cu-Dotatate, Curium’s and RadioMedix Inc. diagnostic radiopharmaceutical has completed the Phase III clinical trial. If approved by the U.S. FDA, 64Cu-Dotatate, will serve lack of availability of somatostatin analogue PET agents for the detection of neuroendocrine tumors.

The nuclear medicine market has been segmented based on type, diagnostic and application. Type wise it is bifurcated into Technetium (Tc-99), Iodine (I-131), Fluorine (F-18), Lutetium (Lu-177), Yttrium (Y-90) and others. Technetium (Tc-99) is the most widely used radioisotope in more than 80% of the diagnostic procedures. It is ideal in a way, as it offers,

• Short life of up to 6 hours, which is sufficient to examine metabolic processes, with reduced radiation exposure to the patient
• Low radiation dose to the patient due to absence of high-energy beta emission
• Easily escapes human body due to the presence of low-energy gamma rays 

Even logistic partners favor its use. A lead pot from the manufacturing sites, containing molybdenum-99 (Mo-99), is supplied to the hospitals, where it decays to Tc-99. As per requirement Tc-99 can be flushed out of the lead pot using saline solution. After a couple of weeks, the generator can be returned for recharging.

In diagnostics, SPECT and PET are the most commonly used procedures for nuclear imaging. SPECT accounted for majority market share in 2018, however PET is expected to grow at a highest pace during the forecast period. There is an explosion of the use of these techniques driven largely by nuclear medicine companies conducting research and development on new biomarkers and nuclear tracers. Additionally, along with the market for imaging equipment used in nuclear medicine, highly dedicated technologies are vital in the radio-pharmacies that produce the isotopes and in the hot labs in hospitals and imaging centers that handle the radioactive tracers.

Application wise, the nuclear medicine market is bifurcated into oncology, neurology, cardiology and others. Oncology will be the highest growing segment by 2025, primarily due to the rising number of cancer patients. Various market players are making investments to manufacture products for cancer imaging. With this in view, Curium has partnered with NRG to largely produce Tc-99, used in cancer imaging.

The major consumers of nuclear medicines are spread across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. In 2018, North America was a major market for nuclear medicines however, the Asian countries are expected to outpace other regions by 2025 growing with a CAGR of 13.3%. Japan, in particularly is witnessing tremendous growth in the use of nuclear medicines. In China, the players are concerned about lack of intellectual property protection for their formulations. Also, the rapidly ageing population in China is seen as an opportunity for growth of nuclear medicine in this region due to the rising number of people with age related cancer. However, in less developed countries like Indonesia, the modality is seriously underutilized.

In Asian market, large patient pool with potential for increased consumer spending and the accessibility of inexpensive skilled and unskilled labor are the major drivers attracting manufacturing and other business from more developed countries. Also, majority of new production irradiators currently being built are in the developing markets.

In Europe, neuroscience has great potential for expansion, but cost effectiveness is an area of concern in the region. Furthermore, in South America, nuclear medicines are priced differently as compared to other regions. The nuclear medicine players sell their products at lower rates in this region, because of economic reasons. Furthermore, the companies also face rivalry from the local atomic energy agencies that manufacture and distribute tracers. The, cost of nuclear medicine imaging also restrains its expansion into the less developed healthcare markets.

For the expansion of nuclear medicine market, it is important to focus on strategic actions. Emphasis should be paid on developing new radiopharmaceuticals. Importance should be given on raising public awareness of the benefits of nuclear medicine, which will foster strong growth of nuclear medicines in the developing world.