DEMOGRAPHIC TRENDS FAVOR DEVICES TO TREAT AND MONITOR SLEEP APNEA, ANALYSTS SAY
An aging U.S. population and increasing rates of obesity are contributing to a positive market outlook for devices to treat and monitor sleep apnea, analysts say.
The most common treatment for sleep apnea combines flow generators -- continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), AutoPAP or bi-level PAP devices -- with "facial interfaces," or masks, worn over the nose during sleep. Pressure from an air blower forces air through the nasal passages, and the air pressure is adjusted to keep the throat from collapsing.
CPAP devices in the U.S. alone generated revenues of $775 million in 2005, and the market is estimated to reach $2.3 billion in 2012, according to global consulting firm Frost & Sullivan (F&S).
CPAP market revenues are estimated to reach $1 billion by 2007, according to F&S. Revenue will be evenly divided between facial interfaces and flow generators by 2012. But unlike CPAP and bi-level PAP devices, AutoPAP devices do not have a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reimbursement code, and so are unlikely to gain any significant market share, F&S noted.
Available raw data shows CPAP devicemakers ResMed and Respironics growing at more than 20 percent, F&S analyst Mike Arani said.