This is Anti-Aging marketing research and can include information on the background, market structure, definitions, competitors, trends and developments of anti-aging and is related to other topics such as seniors, health, medical, genetics and elderly.

Table of Contents

[edit] Background

Anti-aging addresses how to prevent, slow, or reverse the effects of aging and help people live longer, healthier, happier lives. It includes scientific research and applications in genetic engineering, tissue engineering, and other medical advances, e.g., finding treatments and cures for Alzheimer’s disease. It also includes anti-aging psychology, e.g., coping skills for resiliently handling change, stress, and aging. Life extension is the part of anti-aging focused on living as long as possible.

The anti-aging industry spans domains like nutrition, physical fitness, skin care, hormone replacements, vitamins, supplements, and herbs. Anti-aging pursuits date back at least to ancient Egypt. While the religion and pyramids focused on the afterlife, a lot of attention was given to herbs and remedies to promote beauty and longevity.

Over the centuries scientists and alchemists tried to find cures and potions. These included drinking, eating, or injecting substances such as gold, testicles, and transplanting monkey gonads. Many cultures such as India and China developed long traditions of herbs, foods, diets, and health practices to foster anti-aging.

[edit] Market Structure

Large pharmaceutical companies and cosmetics manufacturers produce most cosmeceuticals. Many of the largest cosmetics companies are part of multinational personal hygiene and home care product manufacturers. Both the large cosmetics companies and the pharmaceutical manufacturers have access to internal research and development resources, giving them an inestimable advantage in the ever-evolving anti-aging products market.

Hormonal compounds used for medicinal purposes are manufactured primarily by pharmaceutical companies and are subject to regulation in home country like in USA they are subject to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) scrutiny and approval.

Amino acids and enzymes, including alpha and beta-hydroxy acids, are essential components of many cosmeceuticals and dietary supplements. Like cosmeceuticals, these substances are produced primarily by large pharmaceutical and cosmetics manufacturers, although some independent chemical laboratories and a few small firms are also engaged in their production.

Herbal anti-aging preparations and dietary supplements are manufactured primarily by small companies. As is the case with hormones used in dietary supplements, herbal supplements are not subject to governmental regulation, which enables companies to develop new products with far less expenditure on research and development.

Many countries, including Japan, have amended regulatory rules to classify cosmetics that alter physiology as pharmaceuticals subject to regulation. While companies in the anti-aging products industries dread increased regulation, the trend in the United States has not been in this direction.

[edit] Industry Definitions

• Acetylcholine (ACh) - A neurotransmitter which plays an important role in memory. It is used for control of sensory input signals and muscular control.

• Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) - A disease that progressively destroys the central portion of the retina, which is called the macula.

• Alzheimer’s Disease - Also called SDAT (senile dementia Alzheimer's type). This disease is characterized by a general loss of intellectual ability and impairment of memory, judgment and abstract thinking, as well as changes in personality.

• Amyloid Plaque - A build up of beta-amyloid protein. Amyloid plaques are one of the characteristic structural abnormalities found in the brains of Alzheimer patients.

• Antagonist - A medicine which opposes the action of another medicine or of a poison when absorbed into the blood or tissues.

• Anti-oxidant - A nutrient or chemical that reacts with and neutralizes oxidants, free radicals or chemicals that release free radicals. Antioxidants are also called free radical scavengers. Vitamins A, C, E and some of the B vitamins, beta-carotene, selenium and some key enzymes in your body are all antioxidants.

• Average Life Span - The average number of years that members of a population live.

• Caloric Restriction - An experimental approach to studying longevity in which life spans of laboratory animals have been extended by reducing calories while the necessary level of nutrients is maintained.

• Human Growth Hormone - (HGH) stimulates production in the liver of IGF-1 (also called somatomedin-C) and other growth factors that profoundly influence the body.

[edit] Market Metrics

The U.S. Census Bureau predicts that by 2030, the number of Americans over the age of 65 will reach more than 70 million, representing one fifth of the entire population. There will be 9 million people over 85, and by 2050 some 40 percent of Americans will be 50 or older.

While the general population is expected to grow at a rate of 13 percent by 2010, it’s predicted that the population of those aged 45 and older will grow by 38 percent. Despite the economic weakness of the early 2000s, these individuals continued devoting part of their discretionary income to products that promised to make them look and feel younger than their age. Cosmetic treatments alone, such as Botox and chemical peels, are expected to garner USD $11 billion in revenues by 2007.

In the early part of the 21st century, skin care products and cosmeceuticals were leading the industry’s growth. Sales of anti-aging skin care products exceeded USD $597 million in 2004. In addition, U.S. skin care cosmeceutical sales hit an estimated USD $6.4 billion in 2004, up 7.3 percent from the previous year.

Demand for anti-aging products is centered in the West and the economically developed areas of Asia, particularly Japan, which represents one of the strongest cosmetic and skin care markets in the world. The global skin care market was valued at USD $50 billion and annual growth of 7 percent was expected between 2005 and 2009, making skin care the second-fastest growing cosmetics category, behind sun care products. Some 13,500 new skin care products were released in past, up from 10,000 product launches.

[edit] Industry Players

Avon Products Inc., originator of Anew, the first cosmetic product to include alpha-hydroxy acids, remains a major player in the industry with sales exceeding USD $7.7 billion. Avon's competitive position was enhanced when it added retinol, a vitamin Abased compound said to help protect skin from ultraviolet radiation, to its original Anew formula.

L'Oréal SA, of Clichy, France, was the world's leading beauty products manufacturer in the early 2000s. Its product lines included Maybelline, Biotherm, and Lancôme. The company's sales top USD $17.6 billion. Corporate subsidiaries operate in medical and pharmaceutical research and development, and support L'Oréal's creation of new cosmeceutical products.

Estée Lauder Companies Inc. accounts for roughly half of the sales of prestige women's cosmetics in the United States. The sales exceed USD $5.8 billion, around 37 percent of which was attributed to the skin care market. Estée Lauder's Diminish Retinol eye cream was among the biggest sellers in anti-aging skin care. Estée Lauder's brand lines include Clinique, Aveda, and Origins.

Revlon Inc. also has entered the anti-aging cosmetics market with its Almay and Color Stay product lines, as well as Age Defying Makeup with Botafirm for women with dry skin.

Procter & Gamble (P&G), with brand names like Cover Girl, Olay, Max Factor, and Noxema, is a major firm present in this industry. P&G's rival, the consumer products behemoth Unilever, included among its many brands the Chesebrough Pond's line of cosmetics and toiletries.

Small, independent laboratories and other corporations continue to produce the majority of the non-pharmaceutical hormones and hormone-based dietary supplements and cosmeceuticals.

Two companies dominate the hair replacement portion of the anti-aging products industry: Pfizer Inc. (formerly Pharmacia & Upjohn), manufacturer of Rogaine, and Merck & Co., Inc., manufacturer of Propecia Pharmacia & Upjohn has dominated the hair restoration market since the introduction of Rogaine and its active ingredient minoxidil in 1988.

[edit] Recent Trends and Developments

As advances in medical understanding of the aging process reveal the therapeutic properties of new substances, cosmetics and pharmaceutical firms adapt these substances for use in their products. The industry also expends a great deal of effort identifying the exact effects of anti-aging compounds. This is particularly true of anti-aging hormones and herbs.

The discovery of new ingredients is the key to the development of new anti-aging products. In October 2004, Household & Personal Products Industry reported that to increase levels of innovation, a number of raw material suppliers for cosmeceuticals and anti-aging products had forged partnerships with counterparts in Asia, South America, and Europe.

However, it noted the need for suppliers who provided extensive clinical or ingredient research support. In addition, the publication noted, "For a given anti-aging ingredient, different suppliers develop their own proprietary platforms to either improve the stability or make it more bio-available."

A new surgical technique appeared under development during the early 2000s. Nanotechnology, being pioneered by Zyvex, the first company dedicated to this technology, says it will provide doctors with surgical tools to repair age-related molecular and cellular damage by supplying highly controlled nutritional and metabolic support to tissues that have ceased functioning on their own.

The biotech sector has approached the U.S. government to supply more funding for and less regulation of anti-aging research. About 25 U.S. biotech firms focus on cutting edge anti-aging research in such areas as genetics, stem cell biology, and tissue engineering. This field of regenerative medicine seeks to retard aging through the prevention and treatment of age-related diseases such as cancer, heart disease, and Alzheimer's. If and when the field succeeds, it might obliterate the need for many more superficial anti-aging treatments. As of 2007, however, no readily available cosmeceuticals or procedures had emerged to rival the age-slowing effects of adequate rest, balanced diet, mental stimulation, and plenty of exercise.

[edit] Sources

• Alliance for Aging
• Survival Center
• World Health
• Newstarget

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