Pharmaceutical Grade Silica Gel Market Analysis

Industry Insights:

The pharmaceutical grade silica gel market accounted for USD 43 million in 2016. It is anticipated to experience a significant growth over the forecast period due to increasing demand from key application segments, such as desiccants, adsorbent among others. The overall expansion of pharmaceutical industry is likely to be the major factor for this growth.

Desiccants are used in the processing of drug formulation. The excess of moisture may hamper the effectiveness of the drug. Due to a prominent growth in specialty medicines, biotech companies are experiencing increased investments, which in turn is likely to benefit global pharmaceutical grade silica gel market.

Producers are planning to improve their operating efficiencies, which is expected to increase the demand for pharmaceutical grade silica gel. One of key factor while determining the quality of a drug has been packaging, which is ensured by the usage of desiccants canisters.

The excellent absorption capacity of silica gel at high humidity has proved to be a major factor for its use in desiccant sachets. The increase in the price of sodium silicate prices due to increasing transportation and energy costs are likely to impact specialty silica market negatively. Abundant availability of sulphuric acid in developing economies of Asia Pacific and North America is likely to foster product demand over the forecast period.

Application Insights:

On the basis of application, the industry has been segmented into desiccant, drug carrier, adsorbent, glidant and others. The drug carrier application segment is further divided into scarcely soluble drugs and liquid drugs. Silica gel is used in protecting antibiotic formulations from water vapour & moisture. It is also used to extend the shelf life and storage stability, thereby leading to an increase in demand for silica gel.

Pharma grade silica gel is widely used in the desiccant application segment attributing to its characteristics of exhibiting a lower vapour pressure when compared to the outside environment. It is one of the most extensively used applications and is anticipated to dominate the market over the forecast period.

Regional Insights:

Asia Pacific accounted for more than 45% of the global volume share in 2016.  The market is estimated to grow rapidly over the forecast period owing to increased demand from the pharmaceutical sector. Growing market penetration of pharmaceutical ingredients and excipients in the specialty medicines and biotech companies has evolved in propelling growth over the past few years. Rising disposable income and enhanced medical infrastructure is likely to stimulate the growth of the overall pharmaceutical sector in Asia Pacific, especially in countries such as China and India.

End Use Landscape:

The end-use landscape includes a list of current and prospective consumers prevailing across the regions. This section provides company addresses, contact details, products, and regional presence of companies who are purchasing or are likely to purchase products from pharmaceuticals grade silica gel market. The major consumers of the product are Bumrungrad International Hospital, Palomar Medical Centre, and Johns Hopkins Hospital

Competitive Insights:

The major players in the market include Evonik Industries, W. R. Grace & Co. Conn., Solvay S.A., The Dow Chemical Company, Clariant International Ltd and E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company among others. Several organizations are concentrating on new product launch as well as capacity expansions in order to increase their business presence.

Please note: This is not an exhaustive list of companies profiled in the report.

Pharma companies such as GlaxoSmithKline are investing a lot to increase their share in India. In 2016, the sales of drugs were the second largest globally and it accounted for more than USD 117 billion. Such factors are expected to have a positive impact on pharma grade silica gel market.