The Asia-Pacific radiopharmaceutical market was valued at $500.8 million in 2012 and is poised to reach $824.9 million by 2017 at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 10.5 percent, according to a report from Markets and Markets.

The "Asia-Pacific Nuclear Medicine/Radiopharmaceuticals Market & Stable Isotopes [SPECT/PET Radioisotopes (Technetium, F-18)], [Beta/Alpha Radiation Therapy (I131, Y-90)], [Applications (Cancer/Oncology, Cardiac)] & (Deuterium, C-13) - Forecast to 2017" looks at the major market drivers, restraints, and opportunities in Japan, China, India, South Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, and Rest of Asia.

Similar to the global nuclear medicine market, the Asia-Pacific region is also reducing its dependency on nuclear reactors by introducing hospital-based cyclotron facilities. This paves the way for novel isotopes such as Tl-201, F-18, and Rb-82 to capitalise on opportunities in the growing diagnostics market. Besides the gigantic Tc-99m market, florbetapir F 18 and F18-FDG are gaining popularity through their applications for Alzheimers disease and diagnosis of brain tumours. Nihon Medi Physics, Covidien, Fujifilm, and ANSTO contributed more than 75 percent to the Asia-Pacific Nuclear Medicine/Radiopharmaceuticals Market in 2012.

It is estimated that Tc-99m diagnostic procedures are expected to increase by more than 30 percent in the developing markets of the Asia-Pacific region, including India, Australia, and South Korea, between 2010 and 2030. The scheduled shutdown of the NRU reactor in Canada in 2016 and OSIRIS in France in 2018 will not have any major impact in the near future, since demand in this geographic region is compensated by local reactors such as ANSTO. 

Radiopharmaceuticals are under clinical trials to extend applications. For instance, preference for radiopharmaceuticals in neurological indications such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and dementia are increasing besides conventional applications such as cardiology and oncology. Furthermore, upcoming radioisotopes such as Ra-223 (Alpharadin) and Ga-68 possess huge potential for clinical applications.

Japan is the dominant Market for Diagnostic Radioisotopes with almost 40 percent share and has around 1,600 gamma cameras, installed in about 1,120 institutions; PET diagnosis has increased dramatically after 2002. The total number of PET institutes in Japan has increased around 6-7 times in the last 10 years. Among Asia-Pacific countries, India, South Korea, and Australia will be significant markets due to rising healthcare budgets and increasing popularity of different radiopharmaceuticals in various clinical indications. Processors such as ANSTO and other players from different geographies run reactors that are involved in the irradiation of U-235 to make crude isotopes. They follow various strategies to achieve sustainable growth, one of which is shifting to Low Enriched Uranium (LEU) from High Enriched Uranium (HEU). These key players were mainly involved in strategic agreements and contracts with other institutes and players, while generator manufacturers followed several strategies to maintain a sustainable supply chain.

Asia-Pacific held the largest share in the Global Stable Isotopes Market in 2012. The stable Isotopes Market was estimated at $56.1 million in 2012 and is poised to grow at 12.6% CAGR over the next five years. Growth of the Stable Isotope Market is driven by proteomics and system biology research and applications such as Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and Mass Spectrometry (MS).

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Markets, Radiopharmaceuticals, Asia-Pacific The Asia-Pacific radiopharmaceutical market was valued at $500.8 million in 2012 and is poised to reach $824.9 million by 2017 at a Compound Annual Growth...