The ophthalmic market, known as the 'Golden Ophthalmology' sector, has attracted significant attention from capital markets due to its enormous potential.2021In China, the overall ophthalmic drug market size was close to260Yuan. With the continuous expansion of the ophthalmic patient base and the improvement in drug penetration rates, it is expected that by2030The domestic ophthalmic drug market size will exceed 100 billion yuan in the year.
Frost & SullivanFrost & SullivanLi Qian, Senior Consulting Director for Healthcare in Greater China at Frost & Sullivan (hereinafter referred to as 'Frost & Sullivan'), was a guest on the Economic Observer's 'Future Health' program to discuss how startups can break through the 'Golden Eye Sector' in the context of a capital winter.
Economic Observer
The ophthalmic market, known as the 'Golden Ophthalmology' sector, has attracted significant attention from capital markets due to its enormous potential.2021In China, the overall ophthalmic drug market size was close to260Yuan. With the continuous expansion of the ophthalmic patient base and the improvement in drug penetration rates, it is expected that by2030The domestic ophthalmic drug market size will exceed 100 billion yuan in the year.
However, at the same time, the entire pharmaceutical market is currently in turmoil, and the ophthalmology sector is no exception. This issue of 'Future Health' focuses on this niche market, inviting Shen Wang, founder and chairman of Weimou Biotech, Ni Jinsong, founder and chairman of Duyun Pharmaceutical, Li Qian, senior consulting director for healthcare at Frost & Sullivan, and Zhang Hao, editor-in-chief of Jingguan Da Health, to discuss how startups can break through the 'Golden Ophthalmology' market amidst the capital winter?
In the view of the three guests, the rise of the ophthalmic drug market is an inevitable trend. Ni Jinsong stated that in the future, ophthalmology will definitely be a large market. From a broader perspective, the global aging population and the popularization of electronic products have led to an annual increase in the incidence of eye diseases. On the other hand, private ophthalmic medical institutions in China are booming, with a significant improvement in disease diagnosis rates.
Corresponding to diseases, on the one hand, there has been a surge in demand for dry eye syndrome and myopia among consumers. On the other hand, the penetration rate of drugs for essential diseases such as macular lesions is rapidly increasing, with global drug sales exceeding100billion dollars.
Shen Wang has also felt the changes in the market. He said bluntly that a few years ago, no one was making innovative ophthalmic drugs, but now many people have realized the value of the ophthalmic market. Especially after China enters an aging society, the growth trend of the ophthalmic drug market will be more obvious. Diseases such as dry eye syndrome and glaucoma are age-related, with higher incidence rates as people age.
In Li Qian's view, in addition to the rapid growth on the demand side, opportunities in the ophthalmic market come from the huge gap between supply and demand. Currently, there are11Hundreds of millions are troubled by eye diseases and vision impairmentDisturbance. However, at this stage, mainstream drugs in drug therapy such as eye drops and anti-inflammatory medications are only delaying the progression of the disease and cannot achieve a fundamental cure. There is a significant unmet demand in the ophthalmic drug market, which is also seen by many innovative pharmaceutical companies as an opportunity for market expansion.
Another key point in the domestic ophthalmic drug market lies in domestic substitution. Li Qian pointed out that currently, foreign-funded pharmaceutical companies account for more than half of the market share in the domestic ophthalmic drug market, especially at the hospital level, where only one domestic pharmaceutical company is among the top few eye drug manufacturers. However, most current ophthalmic startup companies are still in the clinical research and development phase. In three to five years, there should be a batch of domestically developed innovative ophthalmic drugs approved, gradually breaking the existing market pattern. A similar development path has been repeated in fields such as cardiovascular intervention, and the entire process of domestic substitution is expected to last for more than ten years.
In Ni Jinsong's view, the domestic substitution of innovative ophthalmic drugs by domestic companies should not remain at the level of generic drugs but should also provide more value in terms of efficacy. Currently, a significant proportion of hospital medications are products from foreign-funded pharmaceutical companies whose patents have expired. If one only focuses on developing generic versions of these drugs, the competition is about price and sales capabilities. 'This is not what we should be doing. What we need to do is develop drugs with similar or better efficacy faster than foreign-funded pharmaceutical companies in areas where there are no established treatments,' he said.
Shen Wang described the domestic substitution process as standing on the shoulders of giants and competing with them. He gave an example: currently, for treating fundus macular degeneration, medical insurance can cover nine injections, while conventional drugs require one injection per month. The product they developed can maintain this level of care with just one injection.6In just a month, the treatment cost for patients has been significantly reduced. With such advantages, we compete with foreign pharmaceutical companies' products.
Beyond the product side, the evolution of the channel side has also brought more possibilities for domestic substitution. Ni Jinsong mentioned that today's internet drug sales channels represent a new approach for innovative pharmaceutical companies focused on research and development. This is because they differ from the large sales teams of traditional pharmaceutical companies, allowing for relatively light sales operations. Especially in areas such as dry eye syndrome and myopia among teenagersCIn terms of terminal diseases, the reach of internet drug sales channels may be broader.
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Li Qian also said that the sales of Internet ophthalmic drugs are inCThe opportunities at the end are actually very significant. Online shopping has now covered everyone's needs for clothing, food, housing, and transportation, and this shopping habit can continue to expand to include pharmaceuticals. At the same time, the internet is also important.CEnd publicity channels can push products to a broader market. At present, the proportion of in-hospital medication exceeds5Yes, but the futureCThe share of the endpoint will definitely be dominant.
For refractory diseases, Shen Wang has seen the channel advantage of private ophthalmic medical institutions. In recent years, private ophthalmic medical institutions in China have been developing at a rapid pace and are a key part of the diagnosis and treatment market. 'For diseases like macular degeneration, if we can cooperate with institutions like Aier Eye Hospital, start-up pharmaceutical companies can directly distribute their products to hospitals without having to set up sales staff in each one,' he said.
*This article is reprinted from Economic Observer. Authors: Yu Shiqi, Zhang Hao , Original title: Future Health|How can startups break through in the capital winter “Golden Eye Hospital&rdquo? ">
