Topical drug manufacturers can secure a healthy position in the global market with ease. In 2020 this business was around $93 billion and expected to reach $123 billion by 2024. The area is rapidly growing because of the immense benefits that topical drugs offer. 

Topical drugs are effective in delivering therapeutics to a specific area. These are made by dissolving API in a carrier base and adding selected excipients to achieve the desired functionality. The dispersion mediums include gels, emulsions, and ointments. The non-topical dosage forms like oral solids come with patient compliance issues such as low bioavailability, frequent administration, and side effects. These demerits are paving the way for topical drugs, and there is immense growth potential in this area. 

According to the market reports, topical drug manufacturers play a significant role in first-line therapy. Not only market reports but also clinical research supports this prediction. Research in this field is underway. For instance, a recent Rheumatology and Therapy review was done where investigations were carried out for the diclofenac topical application for osteoarthritis. The review concludes that delivery of NSAIDs in topical form offers a well-tolerated, guideline-supported, and effective first-line treatment for knees and hand osteoarthritis. The study clearly states that usage of topical NSAID leads to an improvement in physical function. Multiple head-to-head demonstrations were carried out to find that topical drugs resulted in a reduction of systemic adverse events compared to oral NSAIDs in osteoarthritis. 

No one would want to invest merely based on predictions. But the manufacturers should take positive responses in clinical research seriously. Although the review we mentioned above is about a specific drug type, it has compelling reasons to do more case studies on comparison between orals and topical drugs. These drugs are successful in providing localized therapy to patients. 

Topical drug manufacturers will get many benefits due to the increasing acceptance of topical drugs’ ineffective treatments.