The tablet coatings market is projected to reach USD 969 million by 2025 from USD 739 million in 2020, at a CAGR of 5.6% during the forecast period. 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.
The global tablet coatings market is consolidated at the top, with a large number of leading market players based in developed countries. The prominent players in this market are Colorcon Inc. (US), Sensient Technologies Corporation (US), BASF SE (Germany), Evonik Industries AG (Germany), Ashland Global Holdings Inc. (US), DuPont De Numeours Inc. (US), Kerry Group plc (Ireland), Roquette Freres (France), Eastman Chemical Company (US), Air Liquide S.A. (France), Merck KGaA (Germany), Corel Pharma Chem (India), Biogrund GmbH (Germany), Ideal Cures Pvt. Ltd. (India), Wincoat Colours & Coatings Pvt. Ltd. (India), Spectrum Chemical Mfg. Corp. (US), Coating Place, Inc. (US), Lubrizol Corporation (US), Aquadry Pharma Pvt. Ltd. (India), and Aries Exim Pvt. Ltd. (India). However, in the last few years, a number of smaller players have emerged from niche markets and are competing with global players based on price and technological innovation. Due to the intense competition in the market, major market players are increasingly focusing on expanding their geographic presence into high-growth emerging markets and strengthening their competitiveness in the market by acquiring smaller players with desired technological capabilities or geographic presence.
Based on polymer type, the tablet coatings market is segmented into cellulose polymers, vinyl derivatives, acrylic polymers, and other polymers. The cellulose polymers segment accounted for the larger market share in 2019. The large share of this segment can be attributed to the high adoption 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 swallow ability, 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.
The European tablet coatings market accounted for the larger market share in 2019. The large share of this market segment can be characterized by the presence of a number of pharmaceutical giants with large production capacities leading to a high consumption of excipients. The growing emphasis on superior pharmaceutical products, generics, and biosimilars has also led to the increase in the demand for novel excipients, which, in turn, is expected to drive the market growth in this region in the coming years.
