Last edited 06 Feb 2023

Hospital acquired infections

Patients admitted to or visiting hospitals can develop multiple infections, which are known as hospital-acquired infections (HAIs), or, simply, hospital infections. These conditions generally spread within nursing homes, dialysis centres, rehabilitation centres, outpatient surgery centres, and hospitals. Various bacterial, fungal, and viral pathogens can cause hospital infections. Intensive care units are also a common source of HAIs, which can be treated using antimicrobial drugs. Some therapeutic drugs available for these diseases are CAZ AVI, Surotomycin, MK-3415A, and Ceftolozane.

The growing susceptibility of the neonatal population to HAIs and the booming supply of drugs for these conditions is likely to lead to massive growth in the hospital infection therapeutics market in the coming years. Moreover, the lack of skilled nursing staff in healthcare settings, especially in emerging economies, is a key factor making therapeutic drugs more important. In many countries, these factors will offer pharmaceutical companies the opportunity to increase their production capacity in the coming years.

The number of hospitals is also rising worldwide, primarily due to government efforts to make healthcare more accessible. The World Bank reports the number of hospital beds per 1,000 people around the world increased to 2.894 in 2017 from 2.462 in 2005. A higher number of hospital beds means a larger number of hospital patients, which translates into a higher incidence of various HAIs. Ultimately, this will increase the demand for therapeutic drugs in the coming years.

North America has emerged as the hospital infection therapeutics market leader. The reason is the higher ratio of hospitals to the population of the region compared to other parts of the world. The surging population of ageing people in the continent and the increasing number of multi-drug-resistant microbial pathogens are also significant reasons leading to the rising demand for therapeutic drugs. APAC is also witnessing a rising demand for therapeutic drugs, especially in China and India, due to the growing prevalence of HAIs.