CPAP Market Forecast for 2020 and Beyond

Russian CPAP (SPAP) photo by Fry-09 via Wikimedia Commons

CPAP Market Forecast for 2020 and Beyond

By Admin

According to recent reports on PAP-therapy device and mask sales, the global PAP-devices market is expected to grow exponentially in the coming years. Both the Global CPAP Masks Market Report, available at Marketresearchnest.com, and the Sleep Apnea Devices Market Report by Grand View Research, have similar forecasts for an industry on the rise. Between mask and device sales, the combined CPAP market prediction for 2025 is over $18 billion, with market share increases expanding at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 6 percent. According to Business Insider, mask sales alone will grow by over $430 million in the next five to six years. And for devices, the number is closer to $4 billion in total market growth between now and 2025. These predictions are based on market trends such as home-care growth and device optimization that have persisted through the last two decades. An aging global population and vastly improved diagnostic measures for sleep disorders have led to a sustained growth rate in sleep-health treatment products, and CPAP continues to be the top seller throughout the world.

CPAP Market Drivers

With estimates of sleep apnea prevalence reaching 1 billion worldwide, the growing need for advances in prevention and treatment continues to drive the industry forward, increasing demand for PAP-therapy products and related health services. At the same time, market reports have recognized a number of additional factors contributing to this expansive market environment. Aside from the high prevalence of sleeping disorders and increasing numbers of patients, public awareness campaigns have succeeded in educating at-risk populations about the dangers and warning signs of an apnea syndrome. Even before the current market forecasts, research analysts had pointed out emerging trends within CPAP and other medical equipment markets that have continued to boost sales across the board. Growth in home care, rising online sales and availability of equipment, and comfort features such as improved and custom-fit CPAP masks have all helped to improve PAP-therapy experiences and boost adherence, which is what the patient community needs most. In the last two to three decades, PAP-therapy devices have developed significantly in terms of comfort, design, efficiency, and durability, all of which help the patient community in allowing individual preferences to influence a more diversified supply, as well as a more patient-centered services sector for device repair and maintenance. More recently, the development of smaller, travel-size models such as the ResMed Airmini (2017) has fueled further growth by providing lightweight alternatives to the larger, heavier models of the past. And access to cheaper machines, especially online through e-market retail services, has made treatment even more accessible and affordable. These online markets also serve as peer-to-peer community support networks, which offer guidance on the effective use of PAP-therapy equipment, and provide links to educational resources about sleep apnea and related topics. Market forums, blogbs (like this one), and chat features give customers 24-hour access to information and feedback about their experiences, making the goal of PAP-therapy adherence much easier to attain. Traditionally, there was not much a patient could do if any problems arose with a new device, other than return the product or call for an appointment with a doctor or sleep specialist. The growth of the CPAP market is directly related to the growth in sleep apnea awareness and community support that continues to spread into the new year, both in the U.S. and abroad.

The Big Picture

As life expectancy remains on the rise and populations age further in the coming years, the overall healthcare market is expected to increase on a global scale. In the U.S. in particular, projections published by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services show national health expenditure reaching $6 trillion by 2027 (over 19 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product). This projection represents an annual growth rate of 5 to 6 percent from 2019, a figure that mirrors that of the CPAP market. Analysts point to broad accessibility, quality care, affordability, and patient-centered, outcome-based care models as drivers of progress for the healthcare market as a whole, and each of these factors plays a role in the future vision of CPAP as a gold-standard treatment. From the patient’s perspective, these market-driven innovations in CPAP design are crucial to the long-term goal of improved health through treatment adherence. While low adherence rates continue to be a problem for CPAP as a first-line therapy, innovations, along with increased public awareness and outreach, are aimed at the bottom line of improving the therapy adoption process. If every person with sleep apnea was diagnosed and treated, demand for PAP-therapy products would overwhelm the current supply, but a high-competition landscape would soon meet the needs of the public, and countless lives would be saved as a result. Technological innovations are never easy. Financial constraints, regulatory challenges, research, studies, and trials can be burdensome in a single country, but even more challenging in an international market where each nation has its own regulatory framework in place. The top vendors in the current market, ResMed, Philips Healthcare, and Fisher & Paykel, are not only pushing for innovations in PAP-therapy products, but are also researching potential alternatives, more effective preventative measures, and improved diagnostics. The response to the sleep apnea epidemic is diverse and multifaceted, relying on advances in technology, medical science, consumer reports, and sleep-health studies that last years at a time. What the future has in store for CPAP is uncertain, but as the market reports predict, the global demand for PAP-therapy products is likely to rise throughout the current decade.