RNAi Update

[Guest guest]

Market research 'World RNAi Markets: Current and Future Outlook'

Published: Monday, 19-Jul-2004 News-Medical.Net

(RNAi, as we have seen, is thought to be helpful to neurological and

neuromuscular diseases ~ GG)

One method of treating disease is through inactivating the malignance of

the disease-causing gene.

Gene silencing by RNAi has now been identified as a crucial technology

for target validation and therapeutics. By targeting and interfering

with messenger RNA (mRNA), RNAi technology blocks the expression of the

proteins implicated in disease progression.

Currently, the nascent RNAi market is relatively limited in size and

revenues. " The market for RNAi is, however, set to witness rapid initial

growth because of its speedy adoption by researchers and for drug target

validation by pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, " comments Dr.

Raju Adhikari, Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology Analyst at Frost &

Sullivan (http://biotech.frost.com).

" Once the delivery of short interfering RNA (siRNA) and patent issue is

sorted, and the initial therapeutic potential provided, the market will

be driven mainly by pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies involved

in RNAi-based therapeutic development and drug target validation, " adds

Dr. Adhikari.

The development of RNAi technology is simultaneously set to receive

added impetus from the boom in genomic and proteomic studies. RNAi's

uptake is also expected to be supported by its profile as a reliable and

effective technology with reduced toxic and off-target outcomes. The

anticipated change of the patents and license situation is likely to

encourage more companies to offer RNAi technologies.

In 2003, global RNAi market revenues were estimated at USD 48.0 million.

Of the three application markets- basic research, target validation and

therapeutics- the use of RNAi in target validation is expected to be the

largest over the long term. In 2010, target validation is estimated to

generate USD 146.4 million or just under 50 per cent of total RNAi

market revenues, followed by research with USD 97.6 and therapeutics

with USD 56.0 million.

RNA oligonucleotides are set to be the largest segment of the RNAi

market in the long term, representing an estimated 56 per cent share of

the market in 2010. The vector-based siRNA segment is projected to

account for 18 per cent share of the total market at the same point,

closely followed by the RNAi therapeutic segment with 17 per cent and

the RNAi contract services segment with a 9 per cent share.

Forecast to grow at an annual average of 31.5 per cent over the 2003 to

2010 period, the total RNAi market is set to accumulate USD 328 million

in worldwide revenues. Spurred by its potential, the number of

biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies involved in the technology is

also expected to surge.

Presently, there are over 50 companies in the United States and Europe

active in the RNAi market. RNAi reagents and research tool providers

currently generate the largest share of revenues. Several companies are

also using RNAi as drug target validation tools or for developing

therapeutics.

U.S.-based companies currently dominate the competitive arena. Their

ascendancy is likely to wane over the next five years as companies

specialising in RNAi emerge in the Asian markets. Indeed, while the

United States and Europe currently represent the top two RNAi markets,

accounting for a 55 per cent and 30 per cent share respectively, the

focus is likely to shift to new regional markets in future.

Even as a market buzz surrounds RNAi, Dr. Adhikari urges caution. " It is

now clear that RNAi - that was a molecular curio only five years ago -

is a darling of the biotechnology and pharmaceutical world. What remains

to be seen is whether RNAi will unlock a floodgate of new, effective

genome-based therapies and fulfill the yet undelivered promises of

biotechnology. "