- November 18, 2015
- Posted by: Team EMeRG
- Category: APAC / ASEAN, BY BUSINESS CHALLENGES, BY MEDICAL TECHNOLOGIES, Diabetes Management, Market Entry Assessment, NPI Research, Pricing Research
“CGM with infusion pump is very expensive for patients to buy. In India, hardly a few patients have CGM – let alone infusion pumps. Now with newer technology I hope cost comes down and more patients have access to continuous monitoring. In Metropolitan cities around 5 % of the diabetic population would buy SMBG monitors. In rural areas, diabetes is a trivial issue…”
Overview: Diabetes Monitoring Market in India
India is expected to have the highest diabetes population in the world by 2020 at an estimated 80 million diabetics. Prevalence in rural areas ranged from 3.0% to 8.3% and that in the urban areas was 10.9% to 14.2%.
Categorized into short term, long term and intermediate, diabetes monitoring forms the mainstay of diabetes treatment and management. While tests like fasting plasma glucose (FPG), postprandial plasma glucose (PPG) and self-monitoring blood glucose (SMBG) can be classified as short term monitoring, Glycated Hemoglobin (HbA1c) is typically used for long term monitoring of glycemic index. Continuous monitoring although deemed to be cost intensive has been making rapid inroads into global markets.
The SMBG market in APAC was valued at almost $1.9Bn in 2015 and is experience stagnation across most markets globally. Despite limited adherence, the market for HbA1C has reached $1.1Bn globally. Studies have established that, usage of SMBG or instant monitoring may not assure lower HbA1c levels in the long run. Thus, short to intermediate monitoring with a marker that provides an accurate average of the glucose levels would be necessitated in future.
Our Client: A US based innovator of novel technologies for shortterm / intermediate blood glucose monitoring.
Challenge Statement: A novel noninvasive technology to measure blood glucose had been developed. The client was looking to raise larger funds from public and private investment authorities to commence large scale production.
Research Design: A meticulous research design was created to map diabetes monitoring market under broad issues including current tests available, adherence, challenges faced while using current testing methods, as well as overall customer needs. In addition, limitations of current diabetes monitoring tests including instant monitoring were to be accurately evaluated. The research design hence included thorough secondary research across published literature including scientific journals, Ministry of Health and Welfare websites, publications by International Diabetes Federation and other global diabetes associations. Other secondary sources included company websites, annual reports, press releases, online marketplaces and open sources of market data. Primary sources include interviews with key distributors of various diabetes monitoring devices as well as senior pharmacists selling SMBG devices.
Research Methodology: This primary objective of the study was to provide a detailed understanding of the diabetes monitoring market while assessing feasibility analysis and overall revenue potential for a novel salivary biomarker based blood glucose monitoring device. The research was commenced with detailed secondary research to assess the current disease burden, reimbursement structure, penetration of various blood glucose monitoring modalities and other market metrics including market sizing, competitive landscape, technology evolution as well as GTM strategies of existing market participants. This was followed by understanding the need-gaps and adherence patterns through in-depth discussions with key opinion leaders in the Indian diabetes and healthcare industry. This included diabetologists and consulting physicians across major cities in India. Market forecasts were generated through internal analysis while factoring historical growth as well as qualitative factors.
Research Outcome: EMeRG presented a detailed report on the current state of diabetes management globally as well as the overall addressable market and market potential. The report was presented to key public authorities and venture capital firms leading to generation of additional funds towards commencing large scale production of the device and associated consumables. Our contextual understanding of the diabetes market helped map the patient journey while highlighting the key need-gaps with respect to medication, adherence and lifestyle. By engaging top KOLs in the Indian diabetes market, a credit worthy business case was generated with granular financial projections.
