Nuclear Medicine Radioisotopes Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

Nuclear Medicine Radioisotopes Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

The Nuclear Medicine Radioisotopes Market was valued at USD 6,080.2 million in 2020, and it is expected to reach USD 10,064.4 million by 2026, registering a CAGR of 8.9%, during the period.

Globally, the COVID-19 pandemic has placed significant challenges on health-care systems whether in the preparation, response, or recovery phase of the pandemic. This has been primarily managed by dramatically reducing in- and outpatient services for diseases and implementing infection prevention and control measures.

For instance, according to a research study by Lutz S. Freudenberg et al., published in Journal of Nuclear Medicine September 2020, the study results found that therapeutic and diagnostic nuclear medicine procedures were declined precipitously due to pandemic. Moreover, countries such as South Korea and Singapore, reported a less pronounced impact on nuclear medicine services. However, the overall study results showed that nuclear medicine services worldwide had been significantly impacted. In relation to staff health, 15% of respondents experienced COVID-19 infections within their own departments.

The growth of the Nuclear Medicine Radioisotopes Market studied is mainly attributed to the rising incidences of cancer and cardiac disorders, widening applications of nuclear medicine, increasing SPECT and PET applications, and increasing patient awareness for healthcare.

The upsurge in the global incidence of cancer and modern healthcare facilities have been acting as major drivers for the growth of the market studied. For instance, according to GLOBOCAN 2020, globally, there were 1,92,92,789 new cancer cases in 2020, and it is projected to increase to 2,88,87,940 cases by 2040. Moreover, radiotherapy can be used to treat various medical conditions, especially cancer, using radiation to weaken or destroy particular targeted cells. PET, which is a precise technique, uses isotopes produced in a cyclotron. It is highly used for a clinical role in oncology, with fluorine-18 as the tracer, and it is proven to be the most accurate non-invasive method of detecting and evaluating most cancers.

Nuclear medicine is used to diagnose and determine the severity of variety of diseases, including the types of cancers, heart diseases, gastrointestinal, endocrine, neurological disorders and other abnormalities within the body.

Furthermore, the application of single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and positron emission tomography (PET) is also widening. There are many technological advancements, like the introduction of time of flight (ToF) and the increasing popularity of hybrid imaging systems, which play an important role in the growth of the market studied.

The market players are adopting various strategies such as collaborations, partnerships, merges and acquisitions to increase market share. For instance, in December 2019, Curium has completed the acquisition of MAP Medical Technologies Oy. The acquisition of MAP Medical Technologies Oy will further expand Curium’s footprint in Europe, providing direct access to Nordic and Baltic countries for its broad portfolio of life saving diagnostic solutions.

However, stringent regulatory guidelines, reimbursement complications, and some other factors are dissuading the manufacturers from entering the market studied. These factors have been acting as restraints to the growth of the market studied.

Key Market TrendsCardiology Segment is Expected to Hold Significant Market Share over the Forecast Period

Some of the radioisotopes that are used for myocardial PET perfusion are nitrogen-13 ammonia, rubidium-82, oxygen-15 water, and fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose. Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) is a non-invasive procedure that can accurately identify areas of abnormal myocardial perfusion. It is also used to determine the functional capacity of the heart muscle, while separating living from the irreversibly damaged tissue.

The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected diagnosis and treatment of non-communicable disease such as cardiovascular diseases. Its effects on delivery of diagnostic care for cardiovascular disease, which remains the leading cause of death worldwide.

For instance, according to a research study by Andrew J.Einstein et al., published in Journal of the American College of Cardiology January 2021, globally, COVID-19 was associated with a significant and abrupt reduction in cardiovascular diagnostic testing, especially affecting the world’s economically challenged. Moreover, cardiac diagnostic procedure volume was decreased by 42% from March 2019 to March 2020 and by 64% from March 2019 to April 2020. The nuclear imaging procedures were decreased by 73%, respectively.

Globally, increasing prevalence of cardiovascular diseases is also boosting the market growth. For instance, according to a study published by British Heart Foundation in July 2020, there were approximately 7.5 million people with heart disease in United Kingdom and nearly 170,000 deaths each year, an average of 460 people each day or one death every three minutes happen in United Kingdom due to cardiovascular disorders.​ Moreover, there is a rising number of cardiovascular disorders which will increase demand for diagnostics procdures and drives the market growth.

The diagnostic procedure helps physicians in finding if there are blockages in the coronary (heart) arteries, as well as in determining if the patient should undergo a coronary angiogram.

In Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), a cardiac-specific radiopharmaceutical, such as 99mTc-tetrofosmin (Myoview, GE Healthcare), 99mTc-sestamibi (Cardiolite, Bristol-Myers Squibb), or thallium-201 chloride is administered.

Thus, the rising prevalence of cardiovascular diseases and technological advancements in the field of diagnostics are expected to drive the segment growth over the forecast period.

North America Dominates the Market and Expected to do Same in the Forecast Period

Nuclear imaging in the North America region is considered to be gaining pace, due to the advancements in technology, including the hybrid imaging, introduction of new radiopharmaceuticals for diagnosis, development of molecular imaging and presence of key market players.

During the COVID-19 pandemic 2020, in United States, a new set of regulations for the protection of the staff in the imaging centers and other nuclear facilities were rolled out. For instance, in 2020, the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA), has developed guidelines to assist nuclear medicine departments to change operating procedures to reduce the risk of COVID-19 infection among patients, public and the staff. The guidelines also address the possible shortage of critical thinking radiopharmaceuticals due to air traffic restrictions.

In the North America region, the growth of nuclear medicine procedures is primarily due to the increasing ivestments in nuclear medicine, advancements in technology, including hybrid imaging and the introduction of new radiopharmaceuticals for diagnosis. For instance, in November 2018, Canadian government invested more than CAD 50 million (USD 38 million) in a new center for advanced medical isotope research and development. The center may be on the campus of Triumf, the national laboratory for particle physics, at the University of British Columbia.

The market players are adopting various strategies such as product launches, collaborations, partnerships, merges and acquisitions to increase market share. For instance, in February 2018, the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) approved NorthStar Medical Radioisotopes RadioGenix System (Technetium Tc 99m Generator) for non-uranium sourced molybdenum-99 (Mo-99) production of imaging isotope Technetium-99m (Tc-99m). It is the most widely used imaging agent. Thus, with its approval, NorthStar began providing its customers with a reliable and eco-friendly supply of the Mo-99 radioisotope for the United States.

In addition, in November 2019, Nordion (Canada) Inc., and Ontario Power Generation entered into an agreement to increase the production of Cobalt-60 in the darlington nuclear station. Thus, owing to above mentioned factors it is expected to drive market growth in North America region during the forecast period.

Competitive Landscape

The Nuclear Medicine Radioisotopes Market is framented competitive. There is high competition among the players of the global nuclear medicine radioisotopes market. However, this competition is not by virtue of competitive pricing or product differentiation. Additionally, big players of the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries are leveraging their huge capital reserves to venture into this market, which is further increasing the competition. GE Company (GE Healthcare), NTP Radioisotopes SOC Ltd, Nordion Inc., (Sotera Health company), Cardinal Health, Inc., Bayer AG, Siemens Healthcare, and Positron Corp. are some of the major players in the nuclear medicine radioisotopes market.

Additional Benefits:

• The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format
• 3 months of analyst support

Companies Mentioned

Bayer AG
Bracco SpA
Cardinal Health Inc.
China Isotope & Radiation Corporation (CIRC)
Curium
Lantheus Medical Imaging Inc.
GE Company (GE Healthcare)
NTP Radioisotopes SOC Ltd
Fujifilm Holdings Corporation
Nordion Inc., (Sotera Health company)
NorthStar Medical Radioisotopes
Eckert & Ziegler
Jubilant Life Sciences (Jubilant DraxImage)

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