High-potency monoclonal antibody therapeutics find application scope in precision medicine

Technology convergence through partnerships, mergers and acquisitions is yielding a stream of strong candidates, finds Frost & Sullivan.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, Advances in Monoclonal Antibody Therapeutics, finds monoclonal antibody therapeutics have received extensive attention in the past two decades. Currently, there are 50 monoclonal antibody drugs in the market and the competition among large biopharmaceutical companies is aggressive. More than 500 companies populate this space, developing novel discovery platforms and bioinformatics resources, among other products. In addition, contract manufacturing companies are becoming increasingly popular. Overall, the global monoclonal antibody therapeutics market expects to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 8.1% during 2014 through 2020.

Monoclonal antibody therapeutics are being used for the treatment of a wide variety of diseases, especially in the following areas:

The development of new molecular agents with high specificity is playing a crucial role in the growth of the pharmaceuticals industry.

“Efforts to create advanced molecular agents indicate the top biopharmaceutical companies’ strong focus on biologics,” said TechVision Industry Analyst Cecilia Van Cauwenberghe. “However, during cell line generation, which is an important part of the molecular agent development process, it will be challenging to ensure the optimization of the cell expression system to increase capacity.”

On the other hand, the approval of biologics may affect competing therapeutics. A significant concern for the competition is the cost of developing and producing biologics is remarkably higher than conventional small molecule medications. Furthermore, there is a need for investments in biologics infrastructure and manufacturing.

Big pharmaceutical companies are advancing through potentially lucrative deals to acquire antibody technologies, compensating for patent losses in traditional molecules and making it easier to tackle the advent of biosimilars. They are resorting to mergers and acquisitions as well as partnership and collaboration activities with top-tier players, highly innovative small and medium-sized biotech companies, governmental institutions and leader venture capitals to gain access to the latest developments in monoclonal antibody therapeutics.

“Partnership deals and agreements are adding impetus to technology synergy,” concluded Van Cauwenberghe. “As a result, high-potency products such as ultrapotent antibodies obtained by replacing amino acids, bispecific antibodies and antibody fragments, as well as, glycoengineered antibodies and other innovative solutions are gaining increasing attention.”

Advances in Monoclonal Antibody Therapeutics, a part of the TechVision subscription, provides expert opinions on the emerging trends in monoclonal antibody therapeutics globally, through a detailed strategic assessment of the industry environment.

Frost & Sullivan's global TechVision practice is focused on innovation, disruption and convergence and provides a variety of technology based alerts, newsletters and research services as well as growth consulting services. Its premier offering, the TechVision program, identifies and evaluates the most valuable emerging and disruptive technologies enabling products with near-term potential. A unique feature of the TechVision program is an annual selection of 50 technologies that can generate convergence scenarios, possibly disrupt the innovation landscape, and drive transformational growth.