Orthobiologics Market Trends

Growth Driver

• Surge in burden of musculoskeletal disease: With the rising geriatric population, the prevalence of osteoarthritis and chronic musculoskeletal conditions is burgeoning. Older patients usually require and prefer solutions that restore function and lower the recovery time. Biologic solutions such as biologic scaffolds and bone graft substitutes that promote tissue regeneration are in high demand from all ages of the population. According to data published by the World Health Organization in July 2022, almost 1.71 billion people have musculoskeletal conditions globally. Also, the demographic tailwind develops swift baseline demand across elective orthopedics and underpins long-term market expansion.
• Increase in sports-related injuries: Globally, there has been an increase number of people participating in sports and recreational activities. According to data published by the Pew Research Center in March 2024, almost 4 out of 10, or 38% of Americans, are involved in college sports. More sports activities in younger and middle-aged cohorts are driving high incidences of cartilage injuries and ligament tears. The rising number of sport-related injuries is creating repeatable demand for injectable and graft products. These factors are propelling the market growth during the forecasted period.
• Patient preference for faster recovery, lower morbidity, and biologic solutions: In the current world, patients are more acquainted, outcome-oriented, and tend to opt for treatments that give giving promising and quicker return to function and that have fewer lifelong hardware-associated issues. Demand from patients is usually reinforced by direct-to-consumer education, recommendations from clinicians and is based on the real-world stories of quicker rehabilitations. These factors are creating a market pull that complements clinician-led adoption and raises willingness to pay for effective orthobiologics options and further augmenting the market growth during the forecasted period.

Challenges

• High manufacturing costs & pricing pressure: Orthobiologics undergo biologic processing and therefore have extremely high costs. The bulk of new treatments, therefore, are rendered commercially unviable, thereby curbing the availability of products and market growth worldwide, especially in developing nations where barriers to affordability are high.
• Complex reimbursement landscape and payer fragmentation: The orthobiologic market is facing unstandardized reimbursement policies by various payers, as Medicare, Medicaid, private payers, and healthcare systems worldwide each have varied criteria for coverage and reimbursement. Such a scenario places market instability in front of manufacturers in terms of access to the market and the predictability of revenue. An unusually extended period in deciding on coverage and inconsistency in the level of reimbursement discourage uptake by providers, impeding patient access and weakening the overall development of the market despite the clinical advantages of orthobiologics.