Market Report: Therapeutic Monoclonal Antibodies in Europe

Efficient resource to therapy of complex disorders with lesser side-effects has accelerated growth of monoclonal antibodies based therapeutics against conventional chemical drugs.

A new report from Frost & Sullivan, ‘Analysis of the Therapeutic Monoclonal Antibodies Market in Europe’ finds that the market earned revenues of $19.01 billion in 2011 and estimates this to reach $42.37 billion in 2018, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.1% from 2011-2018.

Predominantly used in the treatment of cancer and autoimmune and inflammatory disorders, other therapy areas using mAbs include cardiovascular and infectious diseases, as well as organ transplants.

High developmental costs act however as a major barrier for market entrants due to the complex production process, expensive biological and chemical materials and clinical trials, as well as required safety, efficacy and quality tests.

The average production cost of developing monoclonal antibodies ranges from $650-$750 million and takes about 8 to 9 years. This factor particularly hinders the entrance of small biotech companies and favours big pharma participants, because of their financial strength and capabilities.

On the other hand, the rise in other specialty pharmaceuticals with biotech invasion is expected to expand therapeutics at niche levels, thereby creating opportunities for bigger and better biologics business.

“Alliances between big pharma and small biotech firms for developing biologics is a key trend observed in this market,” adds Research Analyst Deepika Pramod Chopda. “High developmental costs due to expensive research and testing activities trigger the overall expenditure of mAbs. Alliances with financially adept companies will help small biotech firms to develop new technologies, thus encouraging product development within this market.”