Antibody Drug Conjugates Market by Indication, Linker, Payload, Target Antigens and Geography: Industry Trends and Global Forecasts, 2021-2030

Overview

Over the years, various technological advancements, such as antibody engineering for site-specific conjugation and enhanced pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties, have paved the way for antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) to be recognized as potent therapies targeting a wide range of indications, including solid tumors and hematological malignancies. ADCs are engineered therapeutics comprised of monoclonal antibodies attached to potent cytotoxic payloads through chemical linkers. In fact, the FDA has approved 11 ADCs, namely ado-trastuzumab emtansine (Kadcyla®), brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris®), inotuzumab ozogamicin (Besponsa®), gemtuzumab ozogamicin (Mylotarg®), moxetumomab pasudotox (Lumoxiti®), polatuzumab vedotin-piiq (Polivy®), enfortumab vedotin (Padcev®), sacituzumab govitecan (Trodelvy®), trastuzumab deruxtecan (Enhertu®), belantamab mafodotin-blmf (Blenrep®), and loncastuximab tesirine-lpyl (Zynlonta™) till date. The success of these therapeutics can be attributed to their high tumor selectivity and cell-killing potential of monoclonal antibodies, while limiting off target toxicities. These advantages have made ADCs a new frontier of chemotherapy, thus, bringing about a paradigm shift in the treatment protocol of different types of cancer.

The growing popularity of ADCs is evident from the number of patents filed / granted for ADCs, which has increased from 1,992 in 2011 to over 22,700 in the first quarter of 2021. With approximately 80 ADCs being investigated in more than 250 clinical trials, the pharmaceutical industry is witnessing a dynamic shift from conventional technologies to newer and more robust approaches for the development of such complex biomolecules. In the past few years, several well-funded start-ups / small companies, offering advanced linker technologies, more potent warheads, and novel conjugation technologies, were established. Moreover, multiple licensing deals were inked in the past few years between various stakeholders, to advance the development of ADCs product pipeline. It is worth noting that companies are also evaluating their proprietary ADCs in combination with other effective therapeutic modalities, such as epigenetic modulator, immune checkpoint inhibitors, and monoclonal antibodies. ADC-based combination therapies offer multifaceted advantages, such as reduced drug resistance, improved drug efficacy, shrinking tumor metastasis, and increased cancer survival rates. In addition, novel conjugated drug molecules, such as bicycle drug conjugate (Bicycle Therapeutics), extracellular drug conjugate (Centrose), peptide conjugate (Esperance Pharmaceuticals), phospholipid drug conjugate (Cellectar Biosciences), radionucleotide conjugate (Nordic Nanovector), and tunable drug conjugate (BlinkBio) have also been introduced. Driven by the substantial progress in the use of novel ADC-based combination therapies, the associated clinical results, and ongoing technological advancement, coupled to the marketing authorization of multiple ADCs, the ADC therapeutics market is anticipated to grow at a commendable rate in the mid to long-term.

Scope of the Report

The “Antibody Drug Conjugates Market (6th Edition) by Target Indication (Breast cancer, Blood cancer, Colorectal cancer, Gastric cancer, Gynecological cancer, Head and neck cancer, Lung cancer, and Others), Type of Linker Used (VC, Sulfo-SPDB, VA, Hydrazone linker, and Others), Type of Payload (MMAE, DM4, Camptothecin, DM1, MMAF, and Others), Target Antigens (CD30, HER2, CD22, CD33, and Others), and Geography (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Middle East and North Africa, and Rest of the World): Industry Trends and Global Forecasts, 2021-2030” report features an extensive study of the current and future potential of ADCs being developed for the treatment of various indications. In addition, it features an elaborate discussion on the likely opportunity for the players engaged in this domain, over the next decade.

Amongst other elements, the report includes:

• A detailed review of the current market landscape of ADCs, providing information on drug developer(s) and technology provider(s), phase of development (marketed, phase III, phase II/III, phase II, phase I/II, phase I, preclinical / discovery stage) of lead candidates, target antigen (CD30, HER2, CD22, CD33, and Others), type of linker used (VC, Sulfo-SPDB, VA, Hydrazone linker, and Others), type of payload / warhead / cytotoxin (MMAE, DM4, Camptothecin, DM1, MMAF, and Others), type of antibody (Anti-HER2, Anti-TROP2, Anti-CD30, Anti-mesothelin, Anti-CD22, and Others), antibody isotype (IgG, IgG1, IgG2, and IgG4), type of therapy (monotherapy and combination therapy), combination drug(s) (if being evaluated as combination therapy), target indication(s) (breast cancer, blood cancer, colorectal cancer, gastric cancer, gynecological cancer, head and neck cancer, lung cancer, and others), line of treatment (1st line, 2nd line, 3rd line, and Others), route of administration (intravenous and subcutaneous), and dosing frequency (Q1 weeks, Q2 weeks, Q3 weeks, Q4 weeks, and Others).
• Elaborate profiles of companies (shortlisted based on phase of development of the lead drug) and their respective product portfolios. Each profile features a brief overview of the company, its financial information (if available), product portfolio, recent developments, and an informed future outlook.
• An analysis of the most commonly targeted therapeutic indications and details of ADC candidates being developed against them, highlighting key epidemiological facts about the diseases and currently available treatment options, other than ADCs.
• A list of key opinion leaders (KOLs) within this domain, featuring detailed 2×2 matrices to assess the relative experience of the individuals, who were shortlisted based on their contributions (in terms of involvement in various clinical studies) to this field. It also includes a schematic world map representation, highlighting the geographical locations of eminent scientists / researchers engaged in this domain. In addition, it presents an analysis assessing the credibility and (relative) level of expertise of different KOLs, based on number of publications, number of citations, number of clinical trials, number of affiliations, and strength of professional network (based on information available on LinkedIn).
• An insightful competitiveness analysis of biological targets, featuring a [A] three-dimensional bubble representation that highlights the targets that are being evaluated for ADC development, taking into consideration the number of lead molecules based on a particular target, phase of development of candidate therapies, number of clinical trials and number of target disease indications, and [B] a five-dimensional spider-web analysis, highlighting the most popular biological targets based on a number of relevant parameters, including affiliated publications, grants received to support research on a particular target, number of industry players involved in drug development efforts based on a singular target and geographical distribution of associated clinical trials. 
• An analysis of the recent collaborations (since 2014) focused on the development of ADCs. It includes partnerships inked by various stakeholders in this domain, covering R&D collaborations, licensing agreements (specific to technology platforms and product candidates), product development and commercialization agreements, clinical trial agreements, mergers and acquisitions, and other relevant agreements. 
• An analysis of the investments made, including seed funding, venture capital financing, debt funding, grants, capital raised from IPOs and subsequent offerings, at various stages of development, in companies that are focused on developing ADCs.
• An in-depth analysis of the various patents that have been filed / granted related to ADCs. It includes information on key parameters, such as patent type, publication year, geographical location, issuing authority, assigned CPC symbol, emerging focus areas, and leading industry / academic players (in terms of size of intellectual property portfolio). It also includes a patent benchmarking analysis and a detailed valuation analysis.
• A study of the various grants that have been awarded to research institutes engaged in projects related to ADCs, between 2016 and 2021, highlighting various important parameters, such as year of award, support period, amount awarded, funding institute, grant type, focus area, type of recipient organization, key project leaders, key regions, and leading recipient organizations.
• An in-depth analysis of completed, ongoing, and planned clinical studies of various ADCs, based on several relevant parameters, such as trial registration year, phase of development, current trial status, enrolled patient population, study design, leading industry players (in terms of number of trials conducted), study focus, target disease indication, and key geographical regions.
• An elaborate discussion on the various strategies that can be adopted by the drug developers across key commercialization stages, namely prior to product launch, during / post launch, including a timeline representation of the key strategies adopted by drug developers for the commercialization of their proprietary products.
• An analysis of the key promotional strategies that have been adopted by the developers of marketed products, namely POLIVY™, LUMOXITI™, BESPONSA®, MYLOTARG™, KADCYLA® and ADCETRIS®.
• An assessment of various therapeutics that are being evaluated in combination with ADCs. The study also presents the likely evolution of these therapeutics across different indications. 
• A review of the evolution of ADC conjugation technologies, highlighting the various approaches that have been adopted across different generations; in addition, it presents a review of the existing competition between various conjugation approaches that are available / under development.
• An overview of the studies conducted to better analyze non-clinical data and support first-in-human (FIH) dose selection in ADCs. The study presents findings from various ADC studies in different animal models. It also includes an analysis of different methods used in estimating FIH doses. In addition, it highlights the possible FIH starting doses and estimated dose escalations required to reach human maximum tolerated dose (MTD).
• An elaborate discussion on various factors that form the basis for the pricing of ADC products, featuring different models / approaches that pharmaceutical companies may choose to adopt while deciding the price of their respective lead therapy candidates that are likely to be marketed in the coming years.
• A case study on manufacturing of ADCs, highlighting the key challenges, and a list of contract service providers that are involved in this domain.
• A case study on companies offering companion diagnostics that can potentially be used to make treatment related decisions involving ADCs, providing information on the geographical location of key diagnostic developers, affiliated disease biomarkers, assay technique involved, target indication(s), the type of sample required (tumor tissue, blood, bone marrow and others) and the drug candidates for which a particular test was developed.
• A discussion on affiliated trends, key drivers and challenges, under a comprehensive SWOT framework, which are likely to impact the industry’s evolution, including a Harvey ball analysis, highlighting the relative effect of each SWOT parameter on the overall industry.

Key Questions Answered

• Who are the leading players engaged in the development of ADCs?
• Which indications can be treated with ADCs?
• Which partnership models are commonly adopted by stakeholders in this domain?
• What are the investment trends in this industry?
• Which are the most active clinical trial centers?
• Who are the key opinion leaders that can help you drive your development efforts?
• How is the current and future market opportunity likely to be distributed across key market segments?