Australia Age-Related Macular Degeneration Market Size, Share, Trends and Forecast by Product, Disease Type, and Region, 2026-2034

Australia Age-Related Macular Degeneration Market Summary:

The Australia age-related macular degeneration market size reached USD 209.12 Million in 2025. The market is projected to reach USD 239.47 Million by 2034, growing at a CAGR of 1.52% during 2026-2034. The market is driven by Australia's rapidly aging population increasing demand for AMD treatments, enhanced government reimbursement policies and healthcare initiatives improving treatment accessibility, and artificial intelligence applications revolutionizing early diagnosis and disease monitoring capabilities. These factors are collectively expanding the Australia age-related macular degeneration market share.

Australia Age-Related Macular Degeneration Market Outlook (2026-2034):

The Australia age-related macular degeneration market is positioned for steady growth driven by the nation's aging demographic profile and improving healthcare infrastructure. Government initiatives including the National Strategic Action Plan for Macular Disease are enhancing early detection capabilities and treatment accessibility across metropolitan and regional areas. The integration of artificial intelligence in diagnostic protocols promises to address geographic healthcare disparities through remote screening capabilities. Additionally, the expanding pipeline of novel therapeutics for dry AMD and extended-dosing anti-VEGF formulations for wet AMD will create new treatment paradigms, supporting sustained market expansion throughout the forecast period.

Impact of AI:

Artificial intelligence is revolutionizing AMD diagnosis and disease management in Australia through advanced deep learning algorithms that can analyze optical coherence tomography scans and color fundus photographs with comparable or superior accuracy to human experts. AI models are being developed to predict disease progression, optimize treatment intervals for anti-VEGF injections, and enable early detection of AMD through automated screening programs. These technologies are particularly valuable in addressing Australia's geographic challenges by facilitating remote monitoring and reducing the need for frequent specialist visits, however, due to concerns regarding fairness, accuracy, and the ongoing significance of human clinical oversight, careful integration is advised.

Market Dynamics:

Key Market Trends & Growth Drivers:

Aging Population Driving Increased AMD Prevalence and Healthcare Demand

Australia is experiencing significant demographic transformation with a rapidly aging population, fundamentally reshaping healthcare demand patterns for age-related conditions including macular degeneration. AMD remains the leading cause of blindness and vision impairment among Australians over 50 years of age, affecting approximately 1.25 million people nationally. This figure is projected to increase to 1.7 million by 2030 as the baby boomer generation continues aging into higher-risk age brackets. The Australian Bureau of Statistics projects that by 2066, nearly one in four Australians will be aged 65 years or older, substantially amplifying the at-risk population for AMD development. This demographic shift is driving sustained demand for diagnostic services, anti-VEGF therapies, and ophthalmological care across both metropolitan and regional areas. Healthcare systems are responding by expanding specialist capacity, establishing more comprehensive eye screening programs, and implementing innovative service delivery models to accommodate the growing patient population. The aging trend also correlates with increased healthcare expenditure, as older Australians typically require more frequent monitoring and intervention for chronic eye conditions. A Phase I dose-escalation clinical trial for BBRP11001 (also called BBC1501) was started by BenoBio in Australia in the middle of 2024 to assess an experimental small-molecule inhibitor for patients with neovascular AMD who have not responded well to conventional anti-VEGF therapies. A Phase 2 study is planned for 2025. The medication is being investigated intravitreally at increasing doses from 1.25 µg to 5 µg. This clinical trial exemplifies the pharmaceutical industry's recognition of Australia's aging population as a critical market opportunity and the need for innovative treatment options for patients with inadequate responses to current therapies.

Government Policy Initiatives and Enhanced Reimbursement Support for AMD Treatments

The Australian government has implemented comprehensive policy frameworks and reimbursement programs to improve AMD treatment accessibility and affordability for patients nationwide. In 2022, authorities launched the National Strategic Action Plan for Macular Disease, establishing a coordinated national response across all levels of government to address macular disease through improved service delivery, research funding, and patient support mechanisms. This strategic initiative has catalyzed significant improvements in diagnostic service availability, particularly in underserved regional and rural areas where specialist ophthalmology services have historically been limited. The Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme continues to subsidize anti-VEGF medications including Lucentis, Eylea, Beovu, and Vabysmo, substantially reducing out-of-pocket costs for eligible patients and ensuring treatment affordability for both concession and general beneficiaries. Recent policy discussions have focused on maintaining accessible funding structures for intravitreal injections, with stakeholders advocating for sustained government support to prevent treatment discontinuation due to financial barriers. State and territory health departments are collaborating with federal authorities to expand public hospital eye injection clinic capacity, addressing growing demand while maintaining treatment quality standards. Government-led initiatives demonstrate strong political commitment to addressing AMD as a national health priority, creating favorable conditions for market growth through improved treatment accessibility and sustained healthcare infrastructure investment.

Artificial Intelligence Transforming AMD Diagnosis and Disease Management

Artificial intelligence technologies are fundamentally transforming AMD diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment optimization within Australian ophthalmology practice. Advanced machine learning algorithms demonstrate diagnostic accuracy comparable to or exceeding that of experienced retinal specialists when analyzing optical coherence tomography scans and color fundus photographs, enabling more consistent and objective disease assessment. AI systems are being developed to predict disease progression trajectories, identify patients at highest risk of vision loss, and optimize anti-VEGF injection intervals based on individual patient characteristics and treatment response patterns. These predictive capabilities offer significant potential to personalize treatment regimens, reduce unnecessary clinic visits, and improve resource allocation within constrained healthcare systems. Australia's geographic challenges, with substantial populations living in rural and remote areas distant from specialist services, make AI-enabled remote screening and monitoring particularly valuable for expanding access to quality eye care. Telemedicine platforms incorporating AI diagnostic support could facilitate preliminary AMD screening in primary care settings or community health centers, with suspicious cases referred to specialist ophthalmologists for definitive diagnosis and treatment planning. To investigate the use of AI systems for AMD diagnosis in Australia, researchers from UNSW Sydney conducted a qualitative interview study with 37 stakeholders between September 2022 and March 2023. These stakeholders included 12 clinicians, 10 healthcare leaders, 8 patients, and 7 developers. The study demonstrated the increasing acceptability of AI-driven diagnostic tools in Australian clinical practice by revealing that involved stakeholders collectively anticipate a fee-for-service paradigm for remote identification and monitoring of neovascular AMD. However, successful AI implementation requires careful attention to algorithm validation across diverse patient populations, transparent communication about system limitations, ongoing human oversight in clinical decision-making, and robust data governance frameworks to protect patient privacy and ensure ethical technology deployment.

Key Market Challenges:

High Treatment Costs and Significant Out-of-Pocket Financial Burden

Despite government subsidization through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, AMD treatment remains financially burdensome for many Australian patients, particularly those requiring chronic long-term therapy with intravitreal anti-VEGF injections. The median total annual cost for individuals with macular disease receiving sight-saving eye injections represents approximately 12 percent of the government pension payment, creating substantial financial strain for elderly Australians living on fixed incomes. Treatment expenses extend beyond medication costs to encompass consultation fees, diagnostic imaging, travel to specialist appointments, and time costs associated with frequent clinic visits for injection administration and monitoring. In 2024, the federal government announced changes to private health insurance coverage for intravitreal injections performed in private hospitals and day surgeries, initially scheduled for implementation in July 2025 but subsequently deferred to July 2026 following stakeholder consultations. This policy change raised concerns about potentially increased out-of-pocket costs for patients who previously relied on private insurance coverage to manage treatment expenses. Geographic disparities compound financial challenges, as patients in regional and remote areas often incur additional travel and accommodation costs when accessing specialist services concentrated in major metropolitan centers. Public hospital eye injection clinics, which offer more affordable treatment options, frequently operate at or beyond capacity with extended waiting lists, limiting accessibility for patients seeking bulk-billed services. The cumulative financial burden can lead to treatment discontinuation or suboptimal adherence to recommended injection schedules, potentially accelerating vision loss and reducing treatment effectiveness. Healthcare policymakers and advocacy organizations continue emphasizing the need for sustainable funding mechanisms that balance healthcare system affordability with individual patient accessibility, particularly for elderly Australians with limited financial resources who represent the core demographic affected by age-related macular degeneration.

Limited Approved Treatment Options for Dry Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Dry age-related macular degeneration, accounting for approximately 85 to 90 percent of all AMD cases, presents a substantial unmet medical need due to the historical absence of approved pharmacological treatments to slow disease progression or prevent advancement to geographic atrophy. While anti-VEGF therapies have revolutionized wet AMD management with dramatic vision preservation outcomes, patients with dry AMD have traditionally been offered only nutritional supplementation with AREDS2 formulations containing antioxidants and minerals, which may slow but cannot halt disease progression. Geographic atrophy, the advanced stage of dry AMD characterized by progressive retinal cell death and irreversible vision loss, represents a particularly devastating condition for which effective interventions have only recently become available. In 2024, Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration approved SYFOVRE (pegcetacoplan) and IZERVAY (avacincaptad pegol), complement inhibitors that reduce geographic atrophy lesion growth rates, marking the first approved treatments specifically for this condition. However, these therapies require frequent intravitreal injections similar to wet AMD treatments, imposing treatment burden on patients and healthcare systems while offering disease modification rather than vision restoration. With significant ongoing research efforts concentrated on developing novel treatment modalities, such as gene therapies, stem cell therapies, neuroprotective agents, and oral medications targeting multiple pathophysiological pathways involved in disease progression, the therapeutic landscape for dry AMD is still relatively limited in comparison to wet AMD. The pipeline includes numerous investigational therapies in various clinical development stages, but regulatory approval timelines, demonstrated efficacy requirements, and reimbursement considerations mean that patients and clinicians must wait years before these innovations become clinically available.

Healthcare Access Constraints and Workforce Shortages

Australia faces significant challenges in healthcare workforce capacity and geographic service distribution that directly impact AMD patient access to timely diagnosis and treatment. Ophthalmology and optometry workforce shortages, particularly in regional and remote areas, create substantial delays in specialist appointments, diagnostic assessments, and treatment initiation for patients with vision concerns. Public hospital outpatient clinics operating at capacity with extended waiting lists cannot accommodate the growing number of patients requiring intravitreal injections for wet AMD management, forcing some individuals toward private specialist services with associated higher out-of-pocket costs. The geographic concentration of retinal specialists in major metropolitan centers like Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide, leaves rural and remote populations underserved, requiring extensive travel for ongoing care that may be logistically challenging or financially prohibitive for elderly patients with mobility limitations or fixed incomes. Healthcare professionals report high clinical workloads, administrative burdens, and burnout due to increasing patient complexity and system capacity constraints, potentially affecting service quality and limiting capacity expansion to meet growing demand. Workforce maldistribution reflects broader healthcare system challenges including inadequate Medicare rebates influencing practice location decisions, regulatory and compliance requirements, and professional development limitations in rural practice settings. The shortage of qualified professionals capable of administering intravitreal injections creates bottlenecks in treatment delivery, with some patients experiencing suboptimal injection intervals due to appointment availability constraints rather than clinical indications. Addressing these workforce and access challenges requires coordinated strategies including training and retention incentives for regional specialists, expanded scope of practice for appropriately trained optometrists and nurses in injection administration, telemedicine and AI-enabled remote screening to facilitate earlier referrals, and continued investment in public hospital infrastructure to expand clinic capacity and reduce waiting times.

Australia Age-Related Macular Degeneration Market Report Segmentation:

IMARC Group provides an analysis of the key trends in each segment of the Australia age-related macular degeneration market, along with forecasts at the country and regional levels for 2026-2034. The market has been categorized based on product and disease type.

Analysis by Product:

• Eylea
• Lucentis
• Beovu
• Others

The report has provided a detailed breakup and analysis of the market based on the product. This includes eylea, lucentis, beovu, and others.

Analysis by Disease Type:

• Wet Age-related Macular Degeneration
• Dry Age-related Macular Degeneration

A detailed breakup and analysis of the market based on the disease type have also been provided in the report. This includes wet age-related macular degeneration and dry age-related macular degeneration.

Analysis by Region:

• Australia Capital Territory & New South Wales
• Victoria & Tasmania
• Queensland
• Northern Territory & Southern Australia
• Western Australia

The report has also provided a comprehensive analysis of all the major regional markets, which include Australia Capital Territory & New South Wales, Victoria & Tasmania, Queensland, Northern Territory & Southern Australia, and Western Australia.

Competitive Landscape:

The Australia age-related macular degeneration market exhibits moderate competitive intensity characterized by the dominance of global pharmaceutical companies with established anti-VEGF products and emerging competition from biosimilar manufacturers seeking to capture market share as patent exclusivities expire. Eylea, Lucentis, and Beovu represent the primary anti-VEGF agents utilized in clinical practice, with Vabysmo and other novel extended-duration formulations gaining adoption through improved dosing convenience and efficacy profiles. Market competition centers on clinical efficacy, safety profiles, dosing frequency, patient outcomes, and pricing strategies, with biosimilar entries exerting downward pressure on treatment costs while expanding patient access through more affordable alternatives. Pharmaceutical companies engage in ongoing clinical research to demonstrate superior treatment outcomes, develop longer-acting formulations reducing injection burden, and expand indications across multiple retinal conditions beyond wet AMD. The regulatory environment facilitated by Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration ensures rigorous safety and efficacy standards while supporting innovation through expedited pathways for breakthrough therapies. Distribution occurs primarily through hospital and specialty pharmacies, with strong relationships between pharmaceutical manufacturers, ophthalmologists, and healthcare institutions influencing prescribing patterns and treatment protocols. As patent protections for first-generation anti-VEGF agents expire, biosimilar competition is expected to intensify, potentially improving affordability and accessibility while compelling originator companies to differentiate through innovation and value-added services supporting treatment adherence and patient outcomes.

Australia Age-Related Macular Degeneration Market Report Coverage:

Key Questions Answered in This Report:

• How has the Australia age-related macular degeneration market performed so far and how will it perform in the coming years?
• What is the breakup of the Australia age-related macular degeneration market on the basis of product?
• What is the breakup of the Australia age-related macular degeneration market on the basis of disease type?
• What is the breakup of the Australia age-related macular degeneration market on the basis of region?
• What are the various stages in the value chain of the Australia age-related macular degeneration market?
• What are the key driving factors and challenges in the Australia age-related macular degeneration market?
• What is the structure of the Australia age-related macular degeneration market and who are the key players?
• What is the degree of competition in the Australia age-related macular degeneration market?

Key Benefits for Stakeholders:

• IMARC's industry report offers a comprehensive quantitative analysis of various market segments, historical and current market trends, market forecasts, and dynamics of the Australia age-related macular degeneration market from 2020-2034.
• The research report provides the latest information on the market drivers, challenges, and opportunities in the Australia age-related macular degeneration market.
• Porter's five forces analysis assist stakeholders in assessing the impact of new entrants, competitive rivalry, supplier power, buyer power, and the threat of substitution. It helps stakeholders to analyze the level of competition within the Australia age-related macular degeneration industry and its attractiveness.
• Competitive landscape allows stakeholders to understand their competitive environment and provides an insight into the current positions of key players in the market.