Monoclonal Antibodies (MAbS) Will Be The Largest Segment Of The Global Biologics Market

Biologic medicines are used to either treat or cure diseases and medical conditions, prevent diseases, or diagnose diseases. Biological products include vaccines, allergenics, somatic cells, tissues, and recombinant therapeutic proteins. The biologics market is segmented into monoclonal antibodies, therapeutic proteins and vaccines, based on the inherent structure and target mechanism. Of these segments, the Monoclonal Antibodies (MAbS) market will grow the fastest to 2021, at an annual rate of 9.85%. Monoclonal Antibodies (mAb) are cells derived by cell division from a single ancestral cell. Monoclonal antibodies target specific cell-surface receptors. These mAbs recognize and bind to antigens, a molecule that induces the immune system, in order to discriminate between specific epitopes (the part of an antigen that is recognized by the antibody) which provide protection against disease organisms. This segment’s fast growth can be attributed to the effectiveness and efficiency of monoclonal antibodies in treating diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis and others.

In the historic period between 2013 to 2017, the vaccines segment of the global biologics market had the highest annual growth rate, at 5.86% year on year. The rapid growth in this market can be attributed to the increasing government and non-government initiatives for vaccine R&D activities and prevention of various infectious diseases. Various bivalent and pentavalent vaccines that can prevent an individual from more than one disease have also been developed and are being administered in many countries across the world.

A trend in the monoclonal antibodies market is the use of DNA immunization as platform for monoclonal antibody induction. DNA immunization is a technique for producing genetically engineered DNA cells, to protect against diseases. DNA immunization offers a unique approach for the production of high-quality monoclonal antibodies against various pathogens. It is used to test different immunogen designs and allows a rapid response to infectious agent. Companies such as Inovio Pharmaceuticals are working on the Zika virus using DNA immunization technology.

Another trend in the monoclonal antibodies market is increased research on antibody-drug conjugates. An antibody drug conjugate is a three-component system including a cytotoxic anticancer agent which is linked to an antibody via a biodegradable linker. These cells bind specifically to certain cells or proteins and help cancer patients’ immune system to attack those cells. In 2013, around 27 antibody drug conjugates molecules were in the pipeline and being developed by various pharmaceutical companies. Kadcyla (ado-trastuzumab emtansine), used for the treatment of breast cancer, is an antibody drug conjugate that has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration.