Short bowel syndrome is a condition in which the body is unable to absorb enough nutrients from foods. It is caused as a result of the small intestine not functioning efficiently. The small intestine is where the majority of the nutrients are absorbed into the body during digestion. Diarrhea is one of the major symptoms of this syndrome, which leads to drastic weight loss malnutrition, and dehydration in most patients. Short bowel syndrome usually occurs due to surgical elimination of a major portion of the small intestine. The short bowel syndrome market is driven by an increase in awareness and acceptance of the short bowel syndrome treatment.
Mild short bowel syndrome treatment involves eating small, frequent meals; taking nutritional supplements; drinking fluid; and using medications to treat diarrhea. Treatment for moderate short bowel syndrome is similar to that for mild short bowel syndrome, with the addition of parenteral nutrition as needed. The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Commission (EC) have approved GATTEX (Teduglutide) for children 1 year of age and older with short bowel syndrome. The drug is developed and manufactured by NPS Pharmaceuticals in association with Takeda Pharmaceuticals. This in turn is expected to drive the growth of the short bowel syndrome market in North America and Europe.
Moreover, the growth of the short bowel syndrome market is attributed to the increase in clinical trials for the development of safe and effective short bowel syndrome treatment. For example, in February 2021, VectivBio Holding AG announced that the first patient has been dosed in its pivotal phase 3 trial of liraglutide in short bowel syndrome (SBS). The phase 3 trial is a global clinical trial that represents the largest phase 3 trial ever conducted in short bowel syndrome with intestinal failure (SBS-IF). The phase 2 clinical program for liraglutide included two independent trials evaluating the safety and efficacy of once-weekly administration in patients with short bowel syndrome.
Furthermore, the major factors attributing to the growth of the short bowel syndrome market are the rising prevalence of gastrointestinal (GI) disorders, such as Crohn’s disease, inflammatory bowel disease, volvulus, which predisposes patients to the development of short bowel syndrome and mesenteric ischemia are the most common causes for short bowel syndrome among all the age groups which demand the necessity of the treatment. However, the lack of availability of the approved drugs, particularly in developing countries, is restraining the growth of the short bowel syndrome market.