Gonorrhea is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) caused by the bacterium Neisseria gonorrhea.
It tends to infect urethra, vagina, anus, and other sexual organs; even
eye or throat area may be affected sometimes. Gonorrhea passes from one
person to another due to unprotected sexual practices or persons who
have multiple sexual partners.
The World Health Organization (WHO)
estimated that the global incidence of gonorrhea increased from 87.7
million in 2005 to 106.1 million in 2008. An article published by Newman
et al (2015) estimated the global prevalence of gonorrhea at 0.8% among
women aged 15 years to 49 years and 0.6% among men in the same age
group in 2012. Rise in new cases of gonorrhea, public awareness about
the disease, high rate of diagnosis, high risk of complications, novel
therapeutic options, and government regulations about antibiotic uses
are the major drivers of the global gonorrhea therapeutics market.
However, antibiotic-resistant gonorrhea is a growing concern among
physicians.
The Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention recommends two types of therapy for gonorrhea: mono therapy
(single dose of 2g oral azithromycin) and dual therapy (single dose of
250 mg of ceftriaxone and 1g of azithromycin). Babies born to mothers
with gonorrhea receive a medication in their eyes immediately after
birth. Based on therapy, the global gonorrhea therapeutics market can be
segmented into mono therapy and dual therapy. In terms of route of
administration, the market can be categorized into enteral, parenteral,
and topical.
Based on distribution channel, the global
gonorrhea therapeutics market can be classified into hospital
pharmacies, retail pharmacies, and online sales. The numbers of retail
pharmacies are increasing with the growing number of registered
pharmacists who can dispense antibacterial drugs for gonorrhea
treatment. On the other hand, the hospital pharmacies witness small
growth in revenue due to the consolidations (joint venture, merger and
acquisitions) among hospitals.
The global gonorrhea therapeutics market
can be segmented into five major regions: North America, Europe, Asia
Pacific, Middle East & Africa, and Latin America. According to the
CDC, around 468,514 cases of gonorrhea were reported in the U.S. in
2016, with a rate of 145.8 cases per 100,000. More significantly, the
disease is not prevalent in any specific age group. Ontario, Canada
reported 30% increase in gonorrhea affected patients between 2013 and
2015. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC)
indicated that 66,413 cases of gonorrhea were registered in Europe in
2016. The same organization also revealed that the U.K., Ireland, and
Denmark reported higher number of confirmed cases, although Eastern
Europe exhibited higher prevalence of gonorrhea due to low public
awareness. According to the International Journal of Infectious Disease,
in 2014, the annual incidence of gonorrhea was 4.0 to 27.3 per 1,000 in
Asia. Latin America represented a higher rate of gonorrhea cases at
27.9 per 1,000, while Africa exhibited highest rate of gonorrhea (63.3
per 1,000 population). Lack of diagnosis and treatment, inadequate
public awareness, and insufficient health care infrastructure are the
key factors for high rate of gonorrhea in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Conservative culture and improved health care facilities in countries in
the Middle East such as Saudi Arabia and Israel lower the prevalence of
gonorrhea affected victims.
Key players in the global gonorrhea
therapeutics market are Bharat Pharmaceuticals, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck
Millipore, Pfizer, Entasis Therapeutics, Inc., and Melinta Therapeutics
among others. Zoliflodacin is a novel antibiotic drug for the treatment
of uncomplicated gonorrhea which will be launched through a
collaborative efforts of Entasis Therapeutics and the Global Antibiotic
Research and Development Partnership. Melinta Therapeutics delivered a
prospect of another novel antibiotic agent RX-P2177 to treat gonorrhea
in July, 2017.
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