Penicillin and streptomycin are antibiotics that are used to limit the growth of bacterial contamination. Owing to their efficient combined activity against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, the medicines penicillin and streptomycin are employed to avoid bacterial contamination of cell cultures. Streptomycin was the first aminoglycoside antibiotic discovered, derived from the bacterium Streptomyces griseus. It is currently mostly used as part of a multi-drug regimen to treat pulmonary tuberculosis (TB). Penicillin and streptomycin are also classified as antibacterial drugs owing to their efficacy. Penicillin and streptomycin treat several health conditions such as tularemia, meningitis, infective endocarditis, and other contagions. Owing to such use cases, market demand is growing.
Key Drivers of the Penicillin and Streptomycin Market
Increasing Prevalence of TB
There is an increasing prevalence of TB across the globe owing to the high consumption of alcohol and tobacco. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), in 2021, there were 2.2 million TB cases across the globe. Of which, 0.74 million new cases of TB were caused by alcohol disorders and 0.69 million were caused by smoking. Since streptomycin is used as a key drug in TB, it is expected to witness a high demand owing to the increase in TB cases.
Growing Use of Streptomycin in UTI Treatment
Streptomycin is often provided orally or by injection to treat (urinary tract infections) UTIs, depending on the severity of the infection. Streptomycin acts by preventing bacterial growth and reproduction. UTIs are commonly occurring infections in a female or male body. According to PubMed Central, In 2019, it was anticipated that there were 404.61 million cases, 236,790 fatalities, and 520,200 disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) worldwide. Deaths increased by 2.4 times between 1990 and 2019.
In the female population, menopause is one of the main causes of UTIs. Menopause occurs 12 months after a woman’s final menstrual period, which occurs in women aged between 45 and 55 years. According to the WHO, women aged 50 and over accounted for 26% of all women and girls worldwide in 2021. This was an increase of 22% from 2011. Hence, with the increasing menopause population coupled with the growing UTI cases, the demand for the market is expected to grow.
Expansions and Innovations by Major Market Players
The penicillin and streptomycin market has significant contributors such as Abbot Laboratories, Bristol Myers Squibb Co., Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Amgen, Biogen Idec, Celgine Corporation, Merck & Co., Inc., Gilead Sciences Inc., Eli Lilly and Co., Astra Zeneca, Sanofi Aventis SA, GlaxoSmithKline Plc, Roche Pharmaceuticals, Novartis AG, Bayer HealthCare AG, and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company, among others. To maintain their competitiveness in the market, some of these players are diversifying their product portfolios and following various mergers and acquisitions activities. Some of the recent developments by these market players include-
• In November 2022, Aurobindo Pharma announced its plans to launch a Penicillin G plant worth $244.1 million. The plant will be completed by 2024. The business intends to launch the trial or pilot batches in early October 2023. The factory, which was approved under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme of India to promote domestic manufacturing of crucial key starting materials and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), would have a capacity of 15,000 tonnes per year.
• In July 2021, Metropolis Healthcare introduced NEXTGEN TB, a whole-genome sequencing platform for tuberculosis that allows quick diagnosis of drug resistance in TB patients and delivers genotypic level information on drug-resistant genes for up to 18 anti-TB drugs. The drugs covered in the medicine include streptomycin, ethambutol, capreomycin, pyrazinamide, isoniazid, rifampicin, kanamycin, amikacin, ofloxacin, and others.
Market Restraints
The key factors restraining the market’s growth are bacterial mutations and antibiotic-related side effects. These antibiotics are losing their potency against bacteria due to expanding mutations in their structures. Besides, antibiotics' most prevalent adverse effects, according to the National Health Service, impact the digestive system. They occur in around one out of every ten persons. There are several other health risks connected with their use, which can hamper the expansion of the penicillin and streptomycin market. For instance, convulsions, headaches, bloody stools, nerve damage, reduced hearing, vertigo, nausea, inflammation, chills, appetite loss, anxiety, and stomach discomfort are all typical health issues that occur due to these drugs.
However, organizations operating in the market are initiating efforts to reduce the adverse effects of these drugs and increase their efficacy. For instance, in November 2022, Apollo Hospitals launched the Antimicrobial Stewardship Programme (Apollo ASP) in India. The program encourages the proper use of antimicrobials (including antibiotics), which improves patient outcomes, minimizes microbial resistance, and slows the spread of diseases caused by multidrug-resistant organisms.