Drone Pharmacy Delivery Market

Drone Pharmacy Delivery Market Outlook (2023 to 2033)

The global drone pharmacy delivery market is expected to reach a valuation of US$ 64.3 million in 2023 and is further expected to grow at a CAGR of 21.4% over the next 10 years. The market will achieve a market value of US$ 447.4 million by the end of 2033.

The global drone pharmacy delivery market represents 18% of the total drone delivery market. Over the forecast period of 2023 to 2033, the drone healthcare market will become a prominent segment of the overall drone delivery market and is expected to contribute more than 30% of the total market share.

Report Attributes	Details
Market Size (2022A)	US$ 53.0 Million
Estimated Market Value (2023E)	US$ 64.3 Million
Forecasted Market Value (2033F)	US$ 447.4 Million
Global Market Growth Rate (2023 to 2033)	21.4% CAGR
North America Market Share (2022)	~43%
East Asia Market Growth Rate (2023 to 2033)	~25.2%% CAGR
United States Market Growth Rate (2023 to 2033)	~20.1% CAGR
Key Companies Profiled	Aergility; Aerialoop; Aerit; Antwork; Aviant; Dove Air; Droneup; F-Drones; Flying Basket; Flytrex; Jedsy; Manna; Matternet; Mission Go; Rakuten Drone; SkyDrop; Speed Bird; Spright; Volansi; Zipline

Growing Drone Medical Deliveries Amid Regulatory Challenges

The drone delivery market has been the talk of the town a quite few times. From companies to investors everyone seems to be bullish on this particular segment. In today’s world, almost everyone has access to smart mobile equipped with high-speed internet, where the waiting period for their deliveries is getting shorter day by day. People do not want to wait for their deliveries and want any and everything at the touch of a button.

The drone pharmacy delivery market is new and still in its early stage in comparison to food and other packaging delivery. However, drone pharmacy delivery has picked up the pace in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. The industry faces huge challenges from the regulatory front, due to complex rules and regulations from both aviation and medical authorities.

• Short Term (2023 to 2026): The effect of Covid-19 is still very much visible in the drone medical delivery industry, where drone delivery companies have made it possible to deliver essential medicines and other medical-related equipment to a remote part of the world. The trend is expected to continue in the near term owing to constant demand from public authorities.
• Medium Term (2026 to 2029): It is expected that the market will receive a few more regulatory approvals from both the medical and aviation department. Which will result in improved service offerings and a wider customer base.
• Long Term (2029 to 2033): With constant technology improvement in drone manufacturing and its software, the performance of the drone delivery market is expected to increase and ultimately leading to higher growth during the forecast period. The confidence shown by the venture capitalist in the drone pharmacy delivery market will further result in market growth.

According to Fact.MR, a market research and competitive intelligence provider, the global drone pharmacy delivery market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 21.4% during the forecast period of 2023 to 2033.

The above image depicts the market analysis of the drone pharmacy delivery industry based on customer type and region. Under the customer type, commercial customers account for 66% of the total market shares.

Driving Factors for Growing Drone Pharmacy Delivery Market

“Rising Cases of Medical Emergencies”

Covid-19 has certainly pushed the demand for drone pharmacy delivery services. From commercial to retail customers, everyone who has access, started using the services of drone medical deliveries. There are few numbers of notable companies specializing in drone pharmacy delivery, and the market is still scattered in terms of service offerings.

The industry saw a few partnerships where drug manufacturers/sellers partnered with drone pharmacy delivery companies for medicine and other medical equipment deliveries. For example, MultiCare Health System, a not-for-profit healthcare organization enter into a partnership with Zipline, one of the leading drone delivery companies in the world to deliver medical products throughout the company’s network of hospitals, and laboratories. Delivering corona vaccine to remote parts of the Middle Eastern and African countries would not have been possible without the intervention of drone delivery companies.

“Increasing Aging Population”

The increasing aging population across the world poses a critical problem for an increase in medical expenditure. Majority of the people are now facing diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure, and other chronic diseases. It is expected that the market will witness an increased demand in years to come on the back of rising demand for medical products.

In the majority of western countries, families do not live together and many a time, it becomes problematic for the elderly to drive and get the prescribed medicine for themselves. In such cases, any family member of the elderly can order the medicine from the nearest store and get it delivered in no time that too by seating in the comfort of the house. This method of pharmacy delivery is easy, convenient, and cost-effective also in comparison to the traditional method of buying medicine, where one has to drive miles to get the medicine.

Challenges faced by Drone Pharmacy Delivery Companies

“Complex Regulatory Norms”

In general, due to multiple cases, where drones met with an accident or made wrong deliveries, or sometimes poses threat to airplanes and helicopters when flying high are finding it difficult in getting clearance from the aviation authorities. Now when companies are trying to enter into drone pharmacy delivery services, they have to get dual approval first from the aviation industry and 2nd from the pharma regulatory bodies.

Companies are having a difficult time running businesses, especially on the retail end. There are certain medicines and other medical products which need to be delivered in a temperature control system and it becomes an issue with the authorities as they can allow permission unless there is a proper system aligned. There is a constant tussle going on between the authorities and service providers for permission and approvals for the drone pharmacy delivery market.

Country-wise Insights

US to Contribute Largest to the total Drone Pharmacy Delivery Demand

The US market has been the front-runner in the drone delivery market since the start. Companies like Zipline, UPS, and Amazon are the market leaders in the drone delivery industry. The acceptance by the general public has been overwhelming in the recent past.

The trend is expected to continue amid rising demand from the commercial and retail end for drone pharmacy delivery services. The US drone pharmacy delivery market is expected to reach a valuation of US$ 24.9 million by the end of 2023.

Pharmaceutical companies are entering into partnerships with drone delivery companies for the deliveries of medicines, blood samples, and other medical products within their medical facilities, and labs. Market players are targeting retail space also for their medicines deliveries, like people living in elderly homes, or far from the cities where they have to travel miles to buy prescribed medicines.

India to Witness the Highest Growth for the Drone Pharmacy Delivery Services

The Indian drone delivery market is not even started if you compare it with the US or UK market. However, things have started to change and the drone delivery market is taking its shape with the entry of many new-edge startups. The Indian market provides an immense opportunity for the drone delivery market owing to its huge young and tech-savvy population and increasing spending power.

Now the penetration of smartphones in India has been growing rapidly with highly affordable data plans, people are ordering any and everything over the internet. From food to clothes to medicines. Now that these online companies have won the trust of people, they are integrating and starting drone pharmacy delivery services and pharmacy is one of the most promising segments.

The Indian government has been very proactive in coming up with guidelines and approvals. In June 2022, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) released guidelines for drone use in the healthcare industry to deliver medicine, vaccine, and other medical products to each and everyone, especially to the ones who are located in the remote part of the country.

Category-wise Insights

Customers from the Commercial Space to Spend More on Drone Pharmacy Delivery Market

Currently, most of the demand for drone healthcare deliveries is being raised by the corporate end. Big Pharmaceutical companies are partnering with drone delivery companies to deliver their products/samples to all their facilities or network of hospitals for their operational uses. An organization like the WHO also partnered with drone delivery companies during the covid for delivering vaccines to the remote part of the world.

The market players are investing huge amounts of time and money to cater to the demand of pharmaceutical companies for their deliveries. Many drone companies around the world are planning to develop drones that can control the temperature and many essential medicines and vaccines can be delivered to the needy in a short span of time. Currently, medicine manufacturer faces issue in handling and delivering their sample and medicines from one place to another, and with the adoption of drones into their day-to-day operations, this problem can be solved with ease.

Demand from Retail Consumers Will Witness the Highest Growth rate

Though in the current market scenario, the demand for drone pharmacy delivery is high from the commercial end, however, it is expected that during the forecast period of 2023 to 2033, the demand from the retail segment will be high in comparison to the commercial end.

The rising population of chronic diseases will present a huge amount of opportunity for drone pharmacy delivery companies to capture. The drone delivery companies have already built the required trust with the customers. Now that they only have to get approval from the healthcare authorities across the locations for medicine deliveries. The drone pharmacy delivery market from the retail space is expected to grow at a gigantic CAGR of 31.6% over the next 10 years.

Competitive Landscape

The prominent market players providing drone pharmacy deliveries are Aergility, Aerialoop, Aerit, Antwork, Aviant, Dove Air, Droneup, F-Drones, Flying Basket, Flytrex, Jedsy, Manna, Matternet, Mission Go, Rakuten Drone, SkyDrop, Speed Bird, Spright, Volansi, Zipline.

The global drone pharmacy delivery industry is in an unorganized state. Very few prominent market players have a global presence, and most of the market share is captured by local players. The industry has witnessed a few notable mergers and acquisitions in the recent past. The drone pharmacy delivery market is highly funded also.

• In April 2022, Zipline, a market leader in drone delivery along with Toyota Tsusho Corp, a logistic company will start delivering medicines in Japan’s Goto Island. With the help of drones, the delivery time can be reduced to 30 minutes from earlier several hours.
• In August 2022, UK’s leading pharmacy chain company, Boots completed the country’s first drone pharmacy delivery. The pharmacy chain partnered with medical drone startup Apian to complete the delivery.

Fact.MR has provided detailed information about the providers of drone pharmacy delivery services positioned across regions, revenue growth, and service offering expansion, in the recently published report.

Segmentation of the Drone Pharmacy Delivery Market

• By Capacity Type :

  • Up to 5 lbs
  • 6-10 lbs
  • Above 10 lbs

• By Customer Type :

  • Retail
  • Commercial

• By Region :

  • North America
  • Latin America
  • Europe
  • East Asia
  • South Asia & Oceania
  • Middle East & Africa