• by Aaron Baar , October 14, 2008

Talk about "the aging population" doesn't apply just to humans; apparently pets are living longer, too. And with increased life expectancy will likely be increased spending on pet medications. 

According to Packaged Facts, the pet medication market is expected to jump to $8.6 billion in sales in the year 2012. That's a 72% increase over 2007's sales of $5 billion (which was an 11% increase over 2006 sales). Among the factors: an aging pet population and the increasing desire for people to give their pets medication despite the costs, says David Lummis, senior pet market analyst for Packaged Facts.

"During the past few years, all of the major pharmaceutical companies have been setting their sights on pet medications," Lummis tells Marketing Daily. "As we see more of these products come to market, we're going to see more marketing and advertising, as we've seen with the most popular medications [currently]."

While many pharmaceutical companies reformulate or repackage drugs they have produced for human consumption into the pet medication market, "companies are also looking to develop new products specifically for pets," Lummis says. Merial's Frontline is an example of a drug produced by a pharmaceutical giant specifically for household pets. The topical flea-and-tick medication recently surpassed $1 billion in worldwide sales, officially making it a "blockbuster" drug, Lummis says.

One area that Lummis expects to grow significantly is a category of non-prescription products that are distributed by veterinarians, such as diet pet food. "We're going to see much more availability of these products crossing into other outlets," he says. "I think that market is underdeveloped."

In addition, marketers and pharmaceutical companies are still only beginning to understand the power of the bond between pets and their owners. "People have always loved their pets. But in the past decade marketers have caught on to that," Lummis says. "They've learned it works, and it works beyond their expectations."