Driven by R&D in the pharma sector and growth in the nutraceutical space, the tablets coating market is projected to reach $969M by 2025 from $739M in 2020, at a CAGR of 5.6% during the forecast period, according to a report by Markets and Markets.
The growth of the pharmaceutical market along with the increasing R&D activities & clinical trial studies is the primary reason the market is witnessing significant growth. Furthermore, the growing adoption of oral formulations among the growing geriatric population, rising adoption of orphan drugs, and increasing uptake of biopharmaceuticals are driving the growth of the market. The emergence of multifunctional excipients, shifting focus of pharmaceutical manufacturing to emerging markets, rising focus on nutraceuticals, and the growing biosimilars industry also present significant growth opportunities for market players.However, the increasing regulatory stringency and the cost and time-intensive drug development process are expected to restrain the growth of this market to a certain extent during the forecast period.
Based on polymer type, the tablet coatings market is segmented into cellulose polymers, vinyl derivatives, acrylic polymers, and other polymers. The cellulose polymer segment accounted for the larger market share in 2019. The large share of this segment can be attributed to the highadoption of these polymers owing to the ability to form coatings generally having acceptable properties such as good film strength, aqueous solubility, and compressibility, less sensitivity to wet granulation, flowability, and better tableting at a low price.
Based on functionality, the non-functional non-modifying coatings segment is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period, owing to the high use of these coatings for the manufacture of immediate-release dosage forms. Also, the benefits such as protection against light and moisture, easy identification, improved swallowability, and taste masking, and the growing demand for innovative drug delivery formulations and increasing focus on nutraceuticals and dietary supplements using immediate-release coatings will continue to drive market growth.
The tablet coatings market is segmented into film-coated, sugar-coated, gelatin-coated, enteric-coated tablets and other tablet coatings based on type. The film-coated tablets segment is expected to grow at the highest rate during the forecast period. The demand for film-coated tablets is high in the pharmaceutical industry due to the benefits of shorter processing times, fairly thin coats obtained as compared to other coating type, high resistance to mechanical influences, and addition of functional properties to the tablets. This is expected to support the growth of the segment even in the coming years.
Based on end users, the tablet coatings market is segmented into pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industry. The nutraceutical industry segment is projected to witness the highest growth during the forecast period. The rising demand for nutraceutical products to prevent the occurrence of lifestyle-associated diseases (such as obesity, arthritis, high blood pressure, cholesterol, and diabetes) is supporting the growth of this segment. Furthermore, innovations being undertaken by manufacturers towards using natural pigments for coating dietary supplements is supporting this growth.