Pruritus Therapeutics Market (Antihistamines, Topical Corticosteroids, Opioid Receptor Antagonists, Topical Immunomodulators, Antidepressants, Immunosuppressants, Topical Local Anesthetics, Cannabinoid Receptors and Others): Global Industry Perspective, Comprehensive Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Segment, Trends and Forecast, 2015 – 2021

Pruritus is the medical term for itchy skin. Pruritus is the most common dermatological disorder. Pruritus is a normal body reaction to protect from harmful external parasites or substances such as insect bites. However, it can be as a result of wide range of skin diseases. Pruritus lasting for more than 6 weeks is called chronic pruritus. Pruritus has been classified into the following four key types include neuropathic, cutaneous, psychogenic and neurogenic. Chronic renal failure is a vital cause of persistent pruritus. Pruritus is enhanced or provoked by a number of chemical substances such as prostaglandins, cytokines, histamine, proteases, neuropeptides and bile salts. Furthermore, chronic pruritus is becoming a burden to society mainly due to the treatment-related costs, which is particularly high due to the elevation rate of therapeutic failure.

Atopic dermatitis is also known as eczema. This is one of the most common skin diseases found in children. Itching may cause skin darkening & thickening and lead to further complications including bacterial infection. In atopic dermatitis, the primary skin becomes extremely inflamed & itchy causing swelling, redness, vesicle formation, cracking, crusting, weeping, and scaling. Thus, pruritus therapeutics market is mainly driven by increasing the prevalence of atopic dermatitis. Moreover, development of new drug and a strong pipeline is also expected to propel the market growth in the years. However, lack of awareness about pruritus may hamper the growth of pruritus therapeutics market. Nonetheless, untapped market and an increasing number of patent expiry of pruritus drugs may generate new opportunity in the forecast period.

The market of pruritus therapeutics has been segmented into antihistamines, topical corticosteroids, opioid receptor antagonists, topical immunomodulators, antidepressants, immunosuppressants, topical local anesthetics, cannabinoid receptors and others. Topical corticosteroids segment dominated the market with more than 20% market share in 2014 while antidepressants segment expected to witness exponential growth in the forecast period. Topical corticosteroids are mostly used to provide relief of itching associated with inflammatory skin diseases such as atopic dermatitis or psoriasis.

Based on region, the pruritus therapeutics market is classified into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa. As a result of favorable government initiatives and introduction of new products for pruritus treatments, North America dominated the market in 2014. Europe was the second largest segment in pruritus therapeutics market and is projected to grow at a steady growth rate.

Key players operating in the global pruritus therapeutics market include Allergan Inc., Amgen Inc., Astellas Pharma Inc., CARA Therapeutics, Novartis AG, and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Ajanta Pharma ltd, Abbot Lab, GSK and Galderma.