A new report from business intelligence provider GBI Research says that the Asia-Pacific treatment market for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) will increase from a little under $6.1 billion in 2014 to just over $10 billion by 2021.

The report, showed that strong market growth will occur across the APAC countries of China, India, Japan and Australia. It will be driven by the rapidly expanding prevalence population resulting from increasingly aging populations and sedentary lifestyles. Higher diagnosis and treatment rates, due to rising disease awareness among the public, will also play a role.

Senior Analyst Aswini Nath says: “T2DM is becoming an increasingly common problem in APAC regions as they become more industrialized and diets become more Westernized. In line with this, there is a very large and innovative pipeline, suggesting a strong potential for unmet needs to be addressed in coming years.

“The late-stage pipeline contains a high proportion of products from established drug classes, with improved dosing regimens and administration routes in comparison to currently marketed products. This suggests that unmet needs relating to patient convenience and ease of use will be addressed most significantly over the forecast period.”

GBI Research also states that the recently approved drug classes, GLP-1 receptor agonists, DPP-4 inhibitors, and SGLT-2 inhibitors, are expected to increase their market share by 2021.

Nath continues: “In comparison to many previously marketed therapies, the new drug classes provide beneficial effects such as improved weight control and lowered hypoglycemia risk. Furthermore, a recent study also identified cardiovascular risk reduction with Jardiance, an SGLT-2 inhibitor.

“These treatments have already achieved strong market uptake, which is expected to increase over the forecast period. The recently launched products in the APAC region that are expected to contribute most significantly to market growth include Forxiga, Invokana, Jardiance, Zafatek, and Tenglyn/Ziten.”