Trends and Developments in the European Urinary Incontinence

The Urinary Incontinence market is at present still characterised by a large untapped potential, both in terms of sufferers without treatment and in monetary terms. Much data has been published on the prevalence of Urinary Incontinence (UI) and its cost to society. Different sources quote different figures, but even taking the World Health Organization's (WHO's) conservative estimates that world-wide direct and indirect costs of Urinary Incontinence exceed $16 billion annually and assuming that it affects about 50 million people in the major pharmaceutical markets (USA, Top 5 Europe and Japan) it becomes clear that it is a widespread condition with severe economic and psychosocial impact.

HBS Consulting has investigated the treatment patterns, patient behaviour and the market potential for the treatment of urinary incontinence of the major European countries (UK, Germany, France and Italy) for drug and alternative treatments like physiotherapy or electro stimulation.