Prescription drug market for IBS was valued at $1.6 billion across the 7MM in 2016, and Publisher expects it to increase to $2.6 billion in 2026, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.8% from 2016–2026. The US contributed over 90% of the market share in 2016, which is linked to the large IBS population and high prescription drug prices in this market compared with the 5EU and Japan.

Three pipeline therapies are expected to launch during the forecast period, which will contribute to the US IBS market growth (CAGR of 5.1% from 2016–2026). Japan will have the slowest market growth (at a CAGR of 0.2%), with the 5EU showing the solid growth (at a CAGR of 4.5%), despite the fact that no therapies are expected to launch in Europe during the forecast period.

Despite the projected growth of the IBS marketplace, all of the currently marketed therapies are anticipated to lose patent protection during the forecast period, which Publisher anticipates to shift market dynamics towards the use of generic versions of these therapies due to their significantly lower cost. In addition, many patients with IBS manage their symptoms using over-the-counter (OTC) products, which are beyond the scope for this report but nonetheless mitigate the current and future uptake of prescription drugs indicated for IBS.