Evergreen, CO
June 13, 2003

Scientia Veritas (SV) is pleased to announce the publication of its Stroke Management Markets and Strategies market research report.  Stroke is the third-leading cause of death in the United States—behind cancer and heart disease—and it is the leading cause of serious, long-term disability.  Scientia Veritas (SV) estimates that there were 730,000 strokes in 2001.  Approximately 600,000 Americans experience their first stroke each year, and current trends indicate that the number of first strokes will surpass 1 million by 2025.  Part of this increase will be due to baby boomers’ moving into the prime age groups for strokes.  It is expected that the elderly population will experience the greatest increase in stroke incidence because that population group is growing fastest and because stroke is age-related. 

The overall population is forecast to increase 20% by 2030, but incidence of first stroke cases is expected to nearly double, attributable primarily to the aging of the population.  The greatest rise is projected for the most common type of stroke, ischemic.  Researchers forecast that the number of ischemic strokes will rise from 2001’s 615,000 to 1.2 million by 2025, and the number of intracerebral and subarachnoid hemorrhages will nearly double, from 115,000 to 230,000.  This will result in a total of over 1.4 million strokes annually by 2025, demonstrating the acute need for improvements in stroke prevention, detection, and management.

According to Secondary and Tertiary Prevention of Stroke. Patient Outcomes Research Team (PORT) Final Report—Phase I, published by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ; Rockville, MD), the lifetime cost of stroke in the United States totaled $71.4 billion in 1998.  That cost was based on a first-stroke rate of 70% (other research has put this figure as high as 85%) of an estimated total of 721,000 strokes—or only 505,000 first strokes.  This figure could be more on the order of 600,000 first strokes, pushing the cost to as high as $85 billion. 

The U.S. stroke management market comprises diagnostic products to assist in the diagnosis and treatment of stroke, pharmaceutical products to assist in the prevention and treatment of stroke, devices to assist in the prevention and treatment of stroke, and surgical interventions to assist in the prevention and treatment of stroke.  Each of the individual market segments contributes substantially to the management of stroke.  By combining products and procedures, clinicians are better able to prevent and treat stroke.  U.S. stroke management revenues totaled $3.0 billion in 2001, up from 1996’s $2.7 billion.  The market is forecast to reach $5.4 billion in 2006.  The largest share of the market was held by surgical intervention, accounting for 37.4% of the market in 2001.  The anticipated approval of many novel drugs will foster growth in the pharmaceuticals sector.  Diagnostics will likely continue to gain market share due to advances in technology and increased sophistication of the imaging equipment used to diagnose and treat stroke.  The decline in surgical intervention revenues will be driven by the high cost of the procedures and the fact that they are not favored by patients.  The device segment will likely still remain the smallest of the segments.  Devices will play an increasingly important role, especially due to new approvals and increased familiarity and expertise among practitioners, but remain secondary to pharmaceuticals in choice of treatment.  

This stroke management report is designed to present the most up-to-date, reliable information on the entire stroke market.  The report concentrates on the following areas:

• Management of stroke, including stroke-related costs, demographics, incidence and prevalence, mortality, education and training, treatment guidelines, and patient outcomes research studies;

• Diagnosis of stroke, including early diagnosis, diagnostic tools in use, research and development, and procedure volume and reimbursements;

• Pharmaceutical products, including prevention, early intervention, treatment, market forecasts, and market shares;

• Stroke treatment devices, including catheter-based products (balloons, coils, stents, PVA, and glues), microcatheters, guidewires, and aneurysm clips, with procedure volumes, market forecasts, and market shares; 

• Surgical interventions for stroke, including carotid endarterectomy and extracranial/intracranial bypass, and procedure volumes and reimbursements; and

• Analysis of the current and future stroke management markets, including historical market size for the years 1996 through 2000, the base year 2001, and future market sizes for the years 2002 through 2006.

(Note:  Although all industry activities and competitor information is current as of April 2003, the base year for market figures and competitor market shares is 2001 due to the delay in availability of mortality figures, procedure volumes, and other data needed to calculate the stroke portion of sales and procedures.  All market information specifically characterizes the stroke portion of sales, procedure volumes, and reimbursements.)

The report, published in April 2003, is 345 pages and includes 144 exhibits.  It is available in file download, CD, and hard copy formats.

To download a complete Table of Contents and List of Exhibits (free), go to www.scientiaveritas.com or contact us at healthcare@scientiaveritas.com

Scientia Veritas (SV) was founded in 1997 and offers both Healthcare and Toxicology/Risk Assessment products and services.  Our Healthcare Division publishes market research reports, writes journal articles and book chapters, develops continuing education materials for medical professionals, and performs a variety of custom work.  SV’s Toxicology/Risk Assessment Division offers products and services that include human and ecological risk assessment, development of guidance documents, expert witness testimony, toxic tort support, statistical analysis, and training and seminars.  SV provides expertise to a variety of public and private clients, including a wide range of healthcare publishing companies, physicians, pharmaceutical suppliers, medical device suppliers, the Department of Justice, Department of the Navy, and Environmental Protection Agency.

Reports coming soon include Anti-Infectives Markets and Strategies; Home Care Services Markets and Strategies; Long-Term Care Markets and Strategies; Men's Cancer Markets and Strategies: BPH, Prostate Cancer, and Testicular Cancer; Pain Management Markets and Strategies; Women's Cancer Markets and Strategies: Breast, Cervical, Endometrial, and Ovarian Cancers; and Wound Care Markets and Strategies.

Contact:       Patricia DeGrandchamp, Healthcare@scientiaveritas.com; 
Tel:  (303) 674-3732; Fax:  (303) 674-8755