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Empty Capsules Market – Insights

Hard gelatin capsules are made using gelatin derived from animal bones and skins. These capsules are made in two halves: a lower-diameter "body" that is filled and then sealed using a higher-diameter "cap". Hard gelatin capsules are used for encapsulation of dry, powdered ingredients or miniature pellets, semi-solids, and liquids.

Statistics:

The global empty capsules market is estimated to account for US$ 3,122.5 Mn in terms of value by the end of 2027.

Global Empty Capsules Market: Drivers

Increasing demand for vegetable/non-gelatin capsules is expected to propel growth of the global empty capsules market over the forecast period. This is owing to increasing preference of vegetable/non-gelatin capsules and organic products among the populace.

Moreover, increasing adoption of hydroxypropylmethylcellulose-made capsules is also expected to aid in growth of the market. Hydroxypropylmethylcellulose is derived from vegetable cellulose. It contains no preservatives, gelatin, wheat, gluten, animal by-products or starch. Cellulose is the preferred capsule base for substances that have more of a semi solid or gel composition.

North America region held dominant position in the global empty capsules market in 2014, accounting for 40.3% share in terms of volume, followed by 2027.

Figure 1. Global Empty Capsules Market Share (%), by Region, 2019

Global Empty Capsules Market: Restraints

Gelatin capsules result in certain allergy-like-symptoms in patients that are hypersensitive to cow or bovine gelatin products. This in turn is expected to hinder growth of the market.

Moreover, high cost of vegetarian capsules is also expected to hinder growth of the market. High cost of vegetarian capsules is attributed to high manufacturing and raw material cost.

Global Empty Capsules Market: Opportunities

Players in the market need to focus on correcting the supply-demand imbalance caused due to lower availability of raw materials and high demand for empty capsules. This can be achieved by strategic collaboration between manufacturers and raw material suppliers.

Crosslinking is a major issue in production of capsules. Cross linking reaction affects the cross linked polymer’s solubility and capsule opening time. This can be addressed by using high quality pharmaceutical excipients and active ingredients that are free of aldehyde contaminations.

Oral Administration segment in the global empty capsules market was valued at US$ 1,563.4 Mn in 2019 and is expected to reach US$ 2,728.5 Mn by 2027 at a CAGR of 7.2% during the forecast period.

Market Trends/Key Takeaways

Increasing number of clinical trials is expected to lead to increasing demand for empty capsules. For instance, according to ClinicalTrials.gov, 32,524 were conducted in the U.S. in 2019 compared to 30, 978 in 2018.

HPMC hard shell capsules are emerging as an alternative to conventional gelatin capsules for oral drug delivery when there is a physical incompatibility of drug formulations with gelatin. Moreover, manufacturers are focusing on developing next generation capsules such as HPMC-polymer capsules (Capsugel, Vcaps Plus) without secondary gelling agents by thermo-gelation process.

Regulations

Western Europe

Edible gelatin and hydrolysed collagen:

Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 sets the general conditions for the production of edible gelatin and hydrolyzed collagen. It covers all aspects from raw materials to delivery of the final product: origin, transport and storage of raw materials, manufacturing conditions, chemical requirements for the gelatin and hydrolyzed collagen, as well as packaging, storage and transport.

The European Pharmacopoeia also provides some specific requirements for the production of pharmaceutical gelatin and hydrolyzed collagen, as well as physical, chemical and microbiological quality requirements for the finished products.

Global Empty Capsules Market: Competitive Landscape

Major players operating in the global empty capsules market include, ACG Group, Capsugel (Lonza Group AG), Qualicaps, Inc., Bright Pharma Caps, Inc., Sunil Healthcare Ltd., CapsCanada Corporation, Roxlor LLC, Snail Pharma Industry Co., Ltd., Suheung Co., Ltd., and Medi-Caps Ltd.

Global Empty Capsules Market: Key Developments

Major players in the market are focused on adopting M&A strategies to expand their product portfolio. For instance, in August 2019, ACG Engineering, a part of ACG Group, acquired Xertecs GmbH, a Germany-based pharma processing equipment company.

Major players in the market are also focused on product development to expand their product portfolio. For instance, in May 2019, Lonza launched Capsugel Zephyr, its new dry-powder inhalation capsule portfolio for customized solutions for optimal pulmonary drug delivery.