According to a new market report by Transparency Market Research, the global lyophilization equipment and services market was valued at $2.7 billion in 2013 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 8.5% from 2014 to 2020, to reach an estimated value of $4.8 billion in 2020.
 
The report, entitled “Lyophilization Equipment and Services Market – Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2014 – 2020,” says the market is growing at a faster pace as a result of the rapidly developing biopharma industry and increase in the number of CMOs globally. The biopharma industry is expected to grow 11% to 13% during 2014 to 2020, with the introduction of new biologics and biosimilars, which increases the demand for lyophilization equipment and services.
 
Lyophilization is essential for the majority of biologics before they can be marketed commercially and also makes transportation of pharma and biopharma products easier and cost-effective compared to other conventional preservation methods.
 
According to the report, in the lyophilization equipment market, tray lyophilizers accounted for the largest market share (48% in 2013), due to their compact design, performance, ease of handling, corrosion resistance and longer service life. Similarly, in applications segment, pharmaceuticals constituted the largest market in 2013, growing 8% over the forecast period.
 
APIs and various formulations including injections, antibodies and antiviral drugs, need to be lyophilized for stability, giving the pharma segment dominance over other segments. This growth is also attributed to stringent regulations set by the ISPE, Good Automated Manufacturing Practice (GAMP) guidelines, and FDA support of lyophilization adoption in pharmaceutical manufacturing.
 
However, according to the report, the biopharmaceuticals segment is estimated to be the fastest growing segment with a CAGR of 9%.
 
In the services segment, cycle development services dominate the market with a CAGR of more than 8%, attributed to low cost and less time consumption for the process. Cycle optimization is also deemed essential for the products that are manufactured on regular basis and on a large scale.
 
Geographically, North America accounted for the largest market share (32% in 2013) in the equipment and services market, combined. However, Asia Pacific countries such as Japan, China, India and Brazil are anticipated to emerge as lucrative markets in the forecast period. According to the report, the market share of India in the global contract research and manufacturing services (CRAMS) market would rise from 8% in 2012 to 21% in 2017, while China is expected to increase from 12% to 19% in the same time period.  
 
Today, some of the major players operating in the lyophilization market are Aseptic Technologies, Azbil Telstar, S.L. Baxter BioPharma Solutions, BioPharma Technologies Ltd., Irvine Pharmaceutical Services, LSNE Contract Manufacturing, Lyophilization Technology, Inc., SP Scientific, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc., W.L. Gore Associates, Inc. and ZIRBUS Technology GmbH.