FORECAST OF THE ALBUMIN DEMAND IN EUROPE
2014 – 2020

In Europe, the human albumin market has experienced periods of irregular growth in recent years, averaging 4% in units annually between 2005 and 2014.

The use of albumin as a volume replacement therapy, maintaining osmotic pressure, and protein carrier remains of prime importance in many clinical situations while new applications as a therapeutic agent may boost its future demand. Over the years, albumin demand has been uneven, particularly in Europe, due to the rise (and fall) of substitutes such as hetastarch and other less expensive plasma volume replacement solutions as well as to unforeseen events, including the emergence of Creutzfeldt Jakob disease in the late 1990s, the Cochrane review article published in the British Medical Journal in 1998 which questioned albumin’s safety and more recently (2010), the withdrawal of fraudulent scientific articles by Dr. Joachim Boldt, advocating the use of hetastarch in surgical application.

Several clinical trials of albumin to treat sepsis septic shock, and hypovolemic shock as well as Alzheimer’s disease are on going. If any of these trials prove the efficacy of albumin, it could significantly increase its demand in the years to come.

After publishing forecasts of the albumin demands in China and the United States in 2014, the Marketing Research Bureau has published a forecast of the albumin demand in Europe from 2014 to 2020.

A detailed proposal is available from the Marketing Research Bureau.