Driven by a Growing Pipeline of Biotherapeutics, the Drug Delivery Technologies Market is Expected to Witness a Double-digit Growth in the Foreseen Future, Predicts Roots Analysis

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Mar 26, 2019, 11:30 ET

LONDON, March 26, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Roots Analysis has announced the addition of "Novel Technologies for Delivery of Proteins, Antibodies and Nucleic Acids, 2019-2030" report to its list of offerings.

Radhika Singla, the principal analyst, stated, "Despite attractive safety and efficacy profiles, the full potential of biologics continues to remain untapped owing to an array of concerns associated with their development, manufacturing and administration. Specifically, the challenges associated with the delivery of such drugs can be attributed to their large molecular weight, short half-lives, and instability in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and intestinal lumen. Currently, over 80 drug / therapy delivery technologies are available / under development for a variety of biotherapeutics, including proteins, antibodies and nucleic acids."

The report presents opinions on several key aspects of the market. Among other elements, it includes:

- A detailed assessment of the current market landscape of companies offering technologies for delivery of biotherapeutics, including information on their geographical location, types of biologics delivered (proteins, peptides, antibodies and nucleic acids), routes of administration used (parenteral, oral, transdermal / topical, inhalation and others) and impact on drug properties / patient compliance. Majority of the technologies are known to employ unique strategies, which developers claim are capable of improving therapeutic stability and drug release properties as well. A significant proportion (25%) of these technologies use lipid and / or other nanoparticles to facilitate drug / therapy delivery. These are followed by nucleic acid and polymer-based (13% each) methods. Other types of platforms have been designed to use carriers, aerosols, proteins, silica / other gels and brain shuttles, for the administration of pharmacological interventions. Innovation in this field is primarily being driven by start-ups / small companies, which represent over 70% of all the stakeholders in the market. The more established players, such as (in alphabetical order, no selection criteria) Evonik Industries, Pacira Pharmaceuticals, Roche and Tamarisk Technologies, are also making substantial contributions in this field.

- A comprehensive competitiveness analysis of the drug delivery technologies, taking into consideration the supplier power (based on year of establishment) and key technology-related specifications, such as the type(s) of biologics delivered, extent of impact on drug properties / patient compliance and the route of administration. Given the susceptibility of biological molecules to enzymatic degradation in the GI tract, majority of the technologies (over 35) utilize the parenteral route of administration. It is worth highlighting that several technologies have been designed to deliver drugs / therapies via more than one route; examples include (in alphabetical order) Eligen® Technology, EuPort™ technology, ImSus® technology, Intravail® Technology, Nano-E™ Drug Delivery System and NexACT®. Over 50 technologies have been designed to deliver more than one type of biologic product. Notably, seven technologies are designed to deliver proteins, peptides, antibodies and nucleic acids (all the types of biologics in scope of the report); examples include (in alphabetical order) 3DNA® (Genisphere), DelSiTechTMSilica Matrix (DelSiTech), HEPtune® technology (Caisson Biotech), PLEX™ Texhnology (PolyPid) and V-Smart® Platform (Lauren Sciences).

- Elaborate profiles of prominent technology developers engaged in this domain, featuring a brief overview of the company, its financial performance (if available), information on its product portfolio, recent developments and a comprehensive future outlook. Additionally, the report includes profiles of certain technologies that emerged as relatively superior in our proprietary competitiveness analysis.

- An in-depth analysis of the various patents that have been filed / granted related to novel drug delivery technologies. It includes information on key parameters, such as patent type, publication year, issuing authority, CPC classification, emerging focus areas and leading industry / academic players (in terms of size of intellectual property portfolio). Nearly 2,400 patents pertaining to novel drug delivery strategies have been filed / granted over the last few years. A detailed analysis of these patents / patent applications revealed that the innovation in this domain is presently focused on nanoparticle-based, polymer-based and nucleic-acid based technologies, which are being developed for use across various clinical conditions, such as cancer, neurodegenerative disorders, metabolic disorders and other chronic diseases / disorders. It is worth highlighting that many nanoparticle-based technologies claim to be capable of facilitating a reduction in dosing frequency, improvements in bioavailability, and have provisions for enabling the controlled release of drug molecules from the formulation matrix. Examples of companies working on such technologies include (in alphabetical order, no selection criteria) Aphios, Acuitas Therapeutics, Arbutus Biopharma, Camurus, Cureport, Lauren Sciences and Peptineo.

- A detailed analysis of the partnerships and collaborations focused on technologies for the delivery of biotherapeutics, featuring a comprehensive set of analyses based on various parameters, such as the year of establishment, type of partnership, type of therapeutic areas, most active players and geographical location. Over 100 strategic partnerships have recently been inked between drug developers and technology providers. It is worth noting that most of the aforementioned deals were licensing agreements (33%), signed with an aim to use a licensor's proprietary platform to formulate biotherapeutics with higher stability and improved release properties. Research and development agreements were the second most popular type of agreements, representing 27% of the total number of deals.

- A comprehensive market forecast analysis, based on the premise that licensing deals are expected to remain the primary source of income for stakeholders offering innovative technology platforms in this market. Based on likely licensing deal structures and agreements that are expected to be signed in the foreseen future, the report provides an informed estimate on the evolution of the market over the period 2018-2030. The report features likely distribution of the current and forecasted opportunity across the following segments:

Type of therapeutic area (oncology and non-oncology)
Route of administration (parenteral and non-parenteral)
Key geographical regions (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and rest of the world).
Key contributing technologies

In this context, North America, which presently has the maximum number of licensing deals, is expected to capture over 60% of the market share, followed by Europe. It is also worth highlighting that technologies that use the parenteral route hold the dominant market share (over 40%), in terms of revenue from licensing deals. However, given their relative ease of administration and capability to ensure high drug adherence, technologies enabling oral administration are likely to grow at a comparatively faster pace in the foreseen future. Presently, technologies that are intended for use in oncological disorders capture a relatively higher market share (over 25%). By 2030, sales-based revenues in this domain are likely to be driven by neurological disorders (such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease); this can be attributed to the increasing incidence of the aforementioned clinical conditions and the limited availability of therapeutic delivery options that are capable of facilitating the transport of therapeutic interventions across the blood brain barrier.

- A discussion on the upcoming opportunities in the field of biotherapeutic drug delivery that are likely to impact the evolution of this market in the coming years.

The report features inputs from a number of eminent industry stakeholders. Singla remarked, "Most industry experts concur on the opinion that the market is still niche and unlikely to generate sales-based revenues till these technologies are clinically validated. Until this takes place, technology developers are likely to continue relying on technology access fees, and upfront and milestone payments generated by the licensing of their proprietary technologies." The report also features detailed transcripts of discussions held with the following experts:

Donovan B. Yeates (Chief Executive Officer and Chief Scientific Officer, Chairman and Founder, KAER Biotherapeutics)
Mathias Schmidt (Chief Executive Officer, ArmaGen)
Ram Bhatt (Chief Executive Officer, Chairman and Founder, ICB International)

The research covers detailed profiles and assesses product portfolios of several companies, including (illustrative list, no selection criteria):