Opportunities and Key Players in Medical Nutrition

Introduction

A small number of products for specific diseases have been introduced over the years, but companies have only recently started to focus on the specific nutritional requirements of patients with different diseases in depth. This report examines the potential of this burgeoning market by identifying areas of unmet need and the companies looking to cater to this demand with new product development.

Features and benefits

• Explore the medical nutrition market as it stands and assess its future potential.
• Identify factors affecting the future growth of the market
• Identify the key therapeutic areas in which there are established products or that represent areas of active interest for the future.
• Understand how medical nutrition products are developed, regulated and reimbursed.
• Identify the key market players and their interest in the future growth of the medical nutrition sector.

Highlights

The growing, aging population and the fact that healthcare systems across the globe are under financial pressure are driving interest in this emerging area. Research is, for example, investigating the possibility that integrating nutrition in therapeutic schedules for cancer might improve treatment outcomes.

The potential rewards for introducing new products for use by patients with specific diseases are significant, as deomnstrated by the billion dollar pharmaceutical markets they represent. However, considerable challenges to this growing market exist - as yet, no market definition exists and regulatory requirements remain unclear.

Clinical trials for medical nutrition products are necessary to demonstrate the efficacy and tolerability of new products and to provide support for any labeling claims. They usually follow standards set in the pharmaceutical arena, including elements such as randomization, the use of controls and double blinding and must stand up to peer review.

Your key questions answered

• What are medical nutrition products?
• In which therapeutic areas is there a market for medical foods?
• Which companies are currently in the medical nutrition market and which groups are driving the sector forward?
• How are they going to achieve the development, approval and launch of medical foods in therapeutic areas not conventionally treated with food?
• What are the key factors affecting the development of the medical nutrition market?