Polymer-drug conjugates are nano-sized drug products currently used for treating cancer and hepatitis. Polymers are now being synthesized to be sensitive to specific enzymes that are apparent in diseased tissue. Conventional polymers are used in polymer-drug conjugates such as cellulose and chitin can be degraded through enzymatic activity and acidity. The drugs remain attached to the polymer and are not activated until the enzymes associated with the diseased tissue are present. This process significantly minimizes damage to healthy tissues.

Polymer-drug Conjugates Market Driver

New pipeline drugs developed using polymer-drug conjugation are expected to propel growth of the polymer-drug conjugates market. For instance, in march 2016, National Cancer Institute (NCI) started undergoing phase II clinical study for CRLX101, a nanoparticle drug conjugate composed of 20(S)-Camptothecin conjugated to a linear, cyclodextrin-polyethylene glycol-based polymer, for the treatment of metastatic prostate cancer and the trial is expected to complete by March 2020.

Polymer-drug Conjugates Market Restraint

Limited use of polymer-drug conjugates is expected to restrain growth of the polymer-drug conjugates market. For instance, according to an article published in Bioengineering and Translational Medicine 2016, polymer-drug conjugates are formed by covalent linkage between the drug and polymer and not all of the drugs have chemical functional groups for covalent conjugation. Moreover, they offer triggered drug release only at the tumor tissue or cell.

Lack of standard and optimized preclinical or clinical protocols to evaluate polymer-drug conjugate stability, tumor penetration, metabolism, and toxicity are hindering growth of the polymer-drug conjugates market.

Polymer-drug Conjugates Market – Regional Analysis

On the basis of region, the global polymer-drug conjugates market is segmented into North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa.

North America is projected to hold dominant position in the global polymer-drug conjugates market due to increase in number of clinical trials in the U.S. For instance, in January 2018, Apellis Pharmaceuticals announced to conduct phase III clinical study for APL-2 in the U.S. APL-2 is a synthetic cyclic peptide drug conjugated to a polyethylene glycol polymer for the treatment of geographic atrophy associated with age-related macular degeneration.

Furthermore, increasing research on novel Drug Delivery Systems (DDS) in Asia Pacific is expected to contribute to significant growth of the Polymer-drug Conjugates Market in the region during the forecast period. For instance, in August 2018, Osaka University, in collaboration with Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan, developed a DDS using polyethylene glycol and polylysine block copolymer, with ubenimex conjugate (PEG-b-PLys (Ube). Intravenous injection of ubenimex with these polymers in mice, found to reduce the tumor size significantly. Such results are expected to be a positive traction for growth of the market during the forecast period.

Key players operating in polymer-drug conjugates market include, Access Pharma, Abeona Therapeutics, Inc., ADAMA India Private Limited, Avadel., GlaxoSmithKline plc. JenKem Technology USA, Lipotek, Sansheng Pharmaceutical Group, Landec Corporation, and Gowan Company.

Polymer-drug Conjugates Market – Taxonomy

By Product Type