Oct 22 2007
Nanotechnology-enabled drug delivery systems (DDS) are dramatically reshaping the way existing drugs are delivered, establishing new opportunities for drug formulation and creating a host of new DDS companies resulting in the opening of a whole new era in the treatment of diseases.
Cientifica, the world's leading independent supplier of nanotechnology research and technology information, in its recently released free White Paper "The Nanotech Revolution in Drug Delivery" reveals that a new value paradigm has taken place in the drug delivery market in which pharma companies' existing compounds have new value.
"At present, several hundred billion dollars worth of existing compounds which cannot be delivered properly are sitting in IP vaults unused," explains Hailing Yu, Research Director for Cientifica and principal author of the report. "The industry is keen to unlock and exploit this valuable intellectual property, and using nanotechnology to create New Chemical Entities (NCEs) via reformulation gives them the key."
The impact on the DDS market is already significant, with Cientifica estimating that nano-enabled DDS already represents a $3.39 billion market and prompting a scramble by both large pharmaceutical companies and drug delivery start ups to grab a piece of a market predicted to grow to $26 billion by 2012, representing a compound annual growth rate of 37% over the next five years.
"After that, the market is poised to explode," explains Cientifica CEO Tim Harper, "with the fruits of today's research and development in both drug delivery systems and nanomaterials feeding through to create a market worth $220 billion by 2015."
The revolutionary impact of nano-enabled also promises to transform the clinical treatment of patients with a range of diseases from cancer to dermatitis, and offers a range of delivery options for compounds that are either poorly soluble or those that may also harm healthy tissue.
The White Paper is a companion to Cientifica's recently released report "The Nanoparticle Drug Delivery Market", which identifies and analyses the companies and players that are likely to benefit as nanotechnology reshapes the drug delivery market.