Aptamers are short single-stranded DNA or RNA (ssDNA or ssRNA) molecules that bind to a specific target protein, lipid, or nucleic acid molecules with high specificity. Aptamers can also be conjugated to drugs, and work as drug-delivery systems. For example, aptamers have been conjugated with chemotherapy drugs to turn target and bind to only cancerous cells and leave healthy tissue untouched.
Furthermore, factors such as lesser possibility of provoking undesired immune responses, high thermal stability, and cost-efficiency provide are expected to boost demand for aptamers. These are produced through a technique called Systematic Evolution of Ligands by Exponential enrichment (SELEX), which is time-consuming and involves iterative steps. Thus, to overcome this disadvantage, Vivonics Inc. developed and patented a one-step rapid technique named Rapid Isolation of DNA Aptamers (RIDA) for the isolation of high affinity and high selectivity aptamers. Such factors are expected to fuel adoption of aptamers.
Aptamers have attracted much attention recently for potential therapeutic and diagnostic purposes and have gained worldwide preference over antibodies owing to the former’s key benefits – lower cost, ability to not destroy neighboring cells, greater binding affinity, longer shelf life and, high specificity. The wide range of applications of aptamers has dominate medical industry to convey monetary clinical evidence and allow companies to significantly increase their influence to capture the untapped potential of aptamers, functioning as a key development opportunity that will propel the market growth.
The global aptamers market size was valued at US$ 3,626.13 million in 2019, and is expected to witness a CAGR of 18.5% over the forecast period (2019 – 2027).
Global Aptamers Market Share (%) Analysis, By Type, 2019
Source: Coherent Market Insights Analysis (2020)
An increasing number of applications is expected to drive the market growth
Aptamer products can be used as biosensors, diagnostics research agents or can be considered as a tool for biomarker or drug discovery. It can also be used for targeted therapeutics and bio-industrial applications. In-vivo aptamers can avoid majority of bench testing, save time, and around 35% of the R&D cost. It permits the natural selection of drug candidates in whole animal models, which reduces the false starts and requires fewer animals for drug evaluation. All these factors have led a large number of companies to invest in this market.
Moreover, growing incidence of life-threatening diseases such as cancer has directed many companies to introduce new detection assays based on aptamers therapy which is expected to help drive the growth of the aptamers market. In March 2017, Aptamer Sciences, Inc. unveiled the multi-protein biomarker assay by using this technology for detection of lung cancer.
Global Aptamers Market – Restraints
Stringent regulations related the use of aptamers and low awareness about these molecules in low- and middle-income countries are some of the factors that may challenge the growth of the market.
Global Aptamers Market - Regional Insights
On the basis of region, the global aptamers market is segmented into North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa. North America holds a dominant position in the global aptamers market, owing to presence of major key players and adoption of strategic collaborations. For instance, in March 2014, Siva Therapeutics, a biotechnology company initiated a research collaboration with SomaLogic, Inc., clinical diagnostic company to determine the ability of SomaLogic’s SOMAmer (Slow-off Rate Modified Aptamer) reagents to actively target gold nanorods to solid tumors. This is expected to create more applications of aptamers in the near future.
Asia Pacific is the fastest growing region in the global aptamers market owing to increasing research and development in the field of aptamers. For instance, in 2015, scientists from the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Research, Mohali India, described the molecular mechanism of RNA aptamers which specifically targets drug resistant and metastatic cancer cells. The NIPER researchers selected the RNA aptamer through Cell-SELEX process.
Global Aptamers Market Value (US$ Mn) & Y-o-Y Growth (%), 2016-2027
Source: Coherent Market Insights Analysis (2020)
Global Aptamers Market - Competitive Landscape
Key players operating in the global aptamers market include Ophthotech Corporation, Aptamer Sciences, Inc., Novartis AG, SomaLogic, Inc., NeoNeuro SAS, Aptagen LLC, Aptus Biotech S.L., AM Biotechnologies, LLC, Base Pair Biotechnologies and Vivonics Inc.
Aptamers are revolutionizing the healthcare industry by providing the affinity towards a desired target with high selectivity and specificity. This has led research scientists to gain interest in the field of aptamers with increasing support from public-private organizations. Companies such as Ophthotech Corporation, Aptamer Sciences, Inc., Novartis AG, and SomaLogic, Inc. are collaborating with each other or independent research organizations and institutes to speed-up the research activities for the treatment of a number of diseases in order to decrease the time to market (TTM).
Market Dynamics
Aptamers offer significant advantages in comparison with protein therapeutics in terms of synthetic accessibility, size, and modification by medicinal chemistry which would aid the development of effective therapies. Continuous investments and development of novel aptamers by market players is expected to propel the market growth over the forecast period. Ophthotech is developing novel therapeutics, Fovista and Zimura (an aptamers), to treat eye diseases. Furthermore, advancements in Systemic Evolution of Ligands by Exponential Enrichment (SELEX) process to extract high-quality aptamers for a more diverse range of applications and government support in developed regions are projected to fuel utilization of these products, leading to market growth.
Key features of the study:
Detailed Segmentation:
“*” marked represents similar segmentation in other categories in the respective section.
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