The glass and fiberglass segment is the largest end user of boric acid. The segment accounted for a consumption volume of nearly 70% of the market, 522.02 thousand metric tons, in 2015. The growth in the global construction industry will foster the market for glass and fiberglass during the forecast period.In 2015, Asia-Pacific (APAC) dominated the market with a share of 57.21%,accounting for 429.48 thousand metric tons. The region will sustain its market share owing to the growth in construction activities, fostered by rapid urbanization and economic growth, especially in developing economies.This report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the global boric acid market for 2016-2020. To calculate the market size, the report considers the revenue generated from the sale of boric acid in several industries including glass and fiberglass, pharmaceuticals and personal care products, flame retardants, wood preservatives and pest control, nutritional supplements, and other segments by considering 2015 as the base year. The numbers have been rounded of in some instances.

Currently, the global alopecia market has very limited approved therapies with two being global and one being approved only for Japan, South Korea, and Australia. Consequently, the market relies heavily on off-label and over-the-counter (OTC) drugs, which form large volume sales but add less to the market value. In spite of the unknown pathophysiology of this condition, the current pipeline looks promising, especially due to novel Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor, SM04554. As this commands higher efficacy and safety as per the clinical trials, once launched, will be one of the primary growth drivers. Regenerative medicines will be the next wave of growth in global alopecia drugs market. The advent of cell therapy and tissue engineering will be able to overcome the barrier of complete hair restoration, which remains a challenge otherwise,through therapeutic usage. The competition, going forward, will become intense for prominent vendors in current alopecia therapeutic market such as Merck and Johnson & Johnson and could result into sales erosion of their drugs as well once regenerative vendors such as RepliCel gets the approval for its Phase II molecule.

Genetic engineering is an advanced technology that modifies chromosomal DNA of animals and plants using molecular scissors (such as restriction enzyme that cut DNA into pieces). Genome engineering is now in the forefront of healthcare gaining traction with its use to fight diseases such as cancer, HIV, Malaria, sickle cell diseases. Pharma companies have entered this field to develop personalized medicines which can cure diseases more efficiently. For instance, in June 2014, Pfizer announced a collaboration with Cellectis, to develop a chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CART-T cell) for anticancer immunotherapies.

Cystic fibrosis, also known as mucoviscidosis, is a genetically inherited, chronic disease and is progressive in nature. The onset of cystic fibrosis typically occurs in early childhood or, rarely, at birth. The primary symptoms of cystic fibrosis include breathing difficulties, high salt content in the sweat, and secretion of abnormally viscous mucus. The principal indicators of cystic fibrosis in patients are pancreatic insufficiency, pancreatitis, chronic bronchitis, adolescent diabetes, male sterility, and very rarely liver cirrhosis or intestinal obstruction. The most usual forms of cystic fibrosis are those with respiratory complications, difficulties related to digestion, and anomalies in height and growth. The mortality and morbidity of a patient are dependent on the degree of bronchopulmonary involvement.

Gastrointestinal disorders include both functional and motility disorders affecting the gastrointestinal tract. Functional disorders involve an abnormality in the working of the gastrointestinal tract. They are the most common type of disorders and present with disturbances in motility, visceral hypersensitivity, changes in the mucosal and immune function, variations in central nervous system processing, and altered gut microbiota. Motility disorders are characterized by changes in the movement of the gastrointestinal tract and the transfer of its contents. Some of the most common gastrointestinal functional and motility disorders include IBS, GERD, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, and peptic ulcers.

Gout is one type of arthritis, which is caused by the high levels of uric acid in the blood. The main symptoms of gout are sudden attack of burning pain, swelling in a joint, and stiffness, usually in toe. If it is not treated, over time, it can harm tendons, joints, and other tissues. NSAIDs and urate-lowering agents are preferred treatment options for gout.

Blood loss or anemia can lead to chronic health problems; therefore, clinicians perform blood transfusion that can help to get relief from chronic health problems. To transfuse, blood clinicians or hospitals take blood units present in their own integrated blood banks or from other centers. Immunohematology, also commonly known as blood banking, helps to screen the donor blood components for blood antigens, Rh factor, plasma, and white blood cell components. It helps to reduce blood transfusionrelated diseases such as HIV and thalassemia. According to the guidelines by World Health Organization (WHO), donated blood is screened before it is transfused to protect the people from such fatalities in most of the countries.

Lung cancer is a common cause of mortality and morbidity in both developed and developing countries. Smoking is considered to be a major cause of lung cancer, though it also occurs in non-smokers. Lung cancer can be categorized into two major types, namely NSCLC and SCLC. NSCLC is the commonest type of lung cancer and constitutes almost 85%-90% of the total diagnosed cases. It grows and spreads quite slowly. NSCLC can be categorized into three types, namely squamous cell (epidermoid) carcinoma, adenocarcinoma, and large cell (undifferentiated) carcinoma. SCLC constitutes roughly 10%-15% of all diagnosed cases of lung cancer. SCLC is categorized into two types, namely small cell carcinoma, and combined small cell carcinoma. It can be further classified into two stages, namely limited-stage SCLC and extensive-stage SCLC. Some of the common symptoms associated with lung cancer are chest pain, incurable cough, blood in sputum, fatigue, loss of appetite, unintentional weight loss, shortness of breath, and wheezing. Both SCLC and NSCLC are recurrent in nature and difficult to cure.

The traditional trial and error techniques used in the field of medicine are now being replaced by safe, marker-assisted, accurate, and molecularguided treatments. One such technique is molecular diagnostics. It involves the measurement and analysis of DNA and RNA at the molecular level to signify changes in biochemical pathways. The purpose of performing these tests is to detect the location of a disease and its activity. The factors that are contributing to its importance include the specificity, wide scope of application, and quick turnaround time. The application of this technology in the development and testing of pharmaceuticals has opened up a huge opportunity for molecular diagnostics in the form of CD. Pharmaceutical companies are focusing on R&D in pharmacogenomics to reduce the turnaround time required from the point of discovery of a drug to its approval.

In this report, Technavio covers the present scenario and growth prospects of the global blood stream infection testing market for 2016-2020.The report also presents the vendor landscape and a corresponding detailed analysis of the top four vendors operating in the market. Also, the report discusses the major drivers that influence market growth, the challenges faced by vendors, and the market as a whole. It also examines key trends and their influence on current and future market scenarios.This Technavio report is based on the synthesis, nalysis, and interpretation of information about the global blood stream infection testing market collected from specialized sources. Technavio analysts have derived insights using a mix of primary and secondary research with an aim to provide a holistic picture of the market.

The global anti-aging products market is posting a steady growth with a CAGR of 5.46% by revenue during the forecast period. Strict regulations by regulatory bodies such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) to manufacture products that are not harmful to consumers are expected to reduce the skepticism that consumers hold toward anti-aging products. The market has witnessed a transformation from the use of synthetic materials in products to organic materials like argan, marula, almond, and coconut. Ingredients like botanical herbs and vitamin E are rising in popularity. Technological advancements in product features and an increased use of organic and renewable raw materials are widely used by key competitors to manufacture effective antiaging products with improved features. For instance, Beiersdorf's Q10 — an ingredient in its anti-aging products — has been considered as one of the best ingredients that accumulates moisture, destroys free radicals, and fills in small wrinkles. In 2015, the number of individuals aged 65 years and above in the Americas, APAC, Europe, and MEA, totaled 493.2 million. The aging population is expected to grow during the forecast period, aiding the growth of the market. By 2020, older people are anticipated to account for more than 20% of the population in Europe and in North America, 15% in Oceania, 12% in Asia and Central America, and 4% in Africa.

Patients unable to eat, digest, and absorb nutrients from the small intestine require enteral-assisted feeding. Enteral nutrition is provided via the GI tract, which is the fastest, cost-effective, and preferred physiological method of feeding.

Global autoimmune and inflammatory immunomodulators market is dominated by biologics, with over 90% share compared with small molecules. This is primarily due to the growing popularity of monoclonal antibodies (mABs) as these biologicals have a high affinity toward specific disease cells and areas that need to be treated. Although, few biologicals are already off-patent in selected regions, or patent will expire over the forecast period, we believe that the market will continue deriving support from the advent of biosimilar and the expected approvals and launches from the strong pipeline. Considering the sensitive and complex nature of biologicals, they are mostly administered in the injectable forms. To a large pool of individuals, this remains a big hurdle in treatment acceptance. To overcome this limitation, the established vendors such as Pfizer, Abbvie, and Eli Lilly are trying to launch an oral form of these biologicals in the market. Once launched, this trend will fuel the market growth exponentially and will become one of the major growth drivers over the years to come.

The next-generation antibodies market is one of the fastest-growing segments in the global next-generation biologics market, and is one of the major research area for biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies due to their wide application platform ranging from rare diseases to generic and chronic ones. Nowadays, the availability of antibodies ranges from oncology indications to autoimmune diseases as well as rare ones like hemophilia and cystic fibrosis. Since the launch of Orthoclone OKT3 (muromonab-CD3), the first antibody, in 1986, over 50 antibodies have been approved globally.In this report, Technavio covers the present scenario and growth prospects of the global next-generation biologics market for 2016-2020 (base year: 2015; forecast end year: 2020). To calculate the market size, the report considers revenue generated from the sales of next-generation biologics. The report also considers the revenues to be generated from the sales of drugs that are expected to be launched into the market during the forecast period.

Foot drop is a gait abnormality, which causes weakness and paralysis of the muscle that lifts the front foot. It may be caused by the disorder of the nerves and might be the result of injuries, stroke or conditions such as multiple sclerosis and cerebral palsy. Foot drop usually affects one foot, but sometimes both feet may be affected. It might be temporary or permanent, based on the cause. The peroneal nerve controls the muscles or tendons that lift the foot. The peroneal nerve may be exposed to trauma as it runs just under the skin on the outer side of the knee. The damage to peroneal nerve causes foot drop.

本周医药板块跟随大盘小幅震荡，个股活跃度不高。随着行业内上市公司2016 年年报及 2017 年第一季报业绩预告的陆续披露，我们建议投资者继续关注有业绩支撑的“白马股”。政策方面：北京近日印发《医药分开综合改革实施方案》，以北京市各级各类公立医院为主的，行政区域内共计 3684 家医疗机构，将于 4 月 8 日同步启动医药分开改革，告别“以药养医”运行机制。  

消费品流通市场空间巨大，但行业仍处在发展早期，分散度高，缺少大型企业。目前行业整合正在发生，随着集中度的提升，龙头企业逐渐显现。怡亚通、九州通于近年来陆续进入消费品流通市场，布局完善、成长迅速，有望在行业整合潮流中顺势迅速发展，成长为消费品领域的国药控股、华润医药，建议投资者关注。 

近日，《北京市医药分开综合改革实斲斱案》収布，幵将二 4月 8 号全面实斲。本次改革癿目标为到 2017 年底，以行政区为单位，公立医陊药卙比(丌含中药饮片)力争陈到 30%巠右，百元医疗收入(丌含药品收入)中消耗癿卫生材料陈到 20 元以下;到 2020 年上述挃标得到迚一步优化，公立医陊医疗费用增长稳定在合理水平。

在两票制政策背景下，压缩医药洿通环节不合理费用迫在眉睫，各地积极探索包括事次议价、GPO、处斱外洿等控费手段，GPO 作为美国行之有效的降低医疗费用模式，未来极有可能在我国更大觃模推广。我们认为有三类公司最为受益，建议关注：1）具有先収优势的 GPO 先行者：嘉亊堂（医院药品 GPO），润达医疗（IVD 渠道整合者），海王生物（全药网 GPO 平台与阳光集中配送协同）；2）整合优势显著的全国医药商业龙头向 GPO 延伸：上海医药（两票制和处斱外洿受益显著）；3）不断创新的区域医药商业龙头积极涉及 GPO 模式：瑞康医药（转型医疗综合服务商）。

中药材价格方面，春节过后，中药材价格指数已经连续 3 周上行，成都中药材价格指数报收 162.15 点，相比前周上升 1.75 点，我们重点跟踪的品种中三七、蒲公英价格均出现了一定上行，特别是三七价格从去年四季度开始出现低位反弹。截止 2017 年 2 月，60 头的三七价格已达到 320 元/千克。维生素方面，VC 价格出现一定程度上涨， 3 月 27 日包衣维生素 C 报收 60 元/千克。受环保升级影响， VC 价格创下近 3 年的新高。