Antibody Drug Conjugate Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Application (Blood Cancer, Breast Cancer), By Technology (Cleavable Linker, Linkerless), By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2021 - 2028

Report Overview

The global antibody drug conjugate market size was valued at USD 4.3 billion in 2020 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 23.7% from 2021 to 2028. Major advancements in linker technology coupled with increasing investment in R&D are expected to drive the market. Moreover, the increasing prevalence of cancer is expected to be one of the key factors driving the market over the forecast period. As per Globocan, in 2020, the incidence of cancer reached 19.3 million, and estimated deaths due to cancer were 9.96 million. The incidence is expected to reach 21.9 million by 2025 and 24.6 million by 2030. Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) combine the sensitive and unique targeting abilities of antibodies, which allows sensitive discrimination between cancer tissues and healthy tissues with the cell-killing ability of cytotoxic drugs.

Hence, it is a growing market and multiple companies are actively involved in R&D activities. More than 100 clinical trials are currently underway for ADCs products. Companies are applying for label expansion of the currently approved products. For instance, Enhertu, which was previously approved for breast cancer also received approval for the treatment of locally advanced or metastatic HER2-positive gastric cancer in the U.S. in Jan 2021.

Challenges in the downstream processing of ADCs are one of the major factors impeding the growth of the market. Production of suitable chemical linkers between the monoclonal antibody and the cytotoxic drug is one of the main challenges in manufacturing effective and safe ADCs. Handling MAb-linker-drug binding chemistries, balancing & combining optimal MAb specificity, and preventing premature toxin release are some of the other major challenges.

However, the delay in diagnosis of new cancers due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent delay in the disease treatment may have a negative impact on the market over the forecast period.

Application Insights

The breast cancer segment dominated the market in 2020 with a revenue share of more than 55%. In 2019, Kadcyla was approved in the U.S. and Europe for adjuvant treatment of HER2-positive early breast cancer patients with the residual invasive disease after neoadjuvant therapy. The approval of Kadcyla for the treatment of early-stage disease is expected to boost sales of the product. Currently, there are three ADC products in the market for breast cancer; Roche’s Kadcyla (ado-trastuzumab emtansine), Daiichi Sankyo’s & AstraZeneca’s Enhertu (trastuzumab deruxtecan), and Gilead Sciences’ Trodelvy (sacituzumab govitecan-hziy).

The blood cancer segment is expected to grow at a CAGR of 19.4% during the forecast period. This growth can be attributed to the increasing incidence of the disease, and approval of ADC drugs. The majority of the segment growth is attributed to the increasing penetration of products, such as Polivy, Adcetris, Blenrep, and Lumoxiti. The blood cancer segment is further categorized into leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma.

The others segment is anticipated to witness the fastest CAGR from 2021 to 2028 owing to the approval of multiple products. For instance, the approval of Enhertu for gastric cancer, and the impending approval of Tisotumab vedotin for cervical cancer.

Technology Insights

The cleavable linker segment dominated the market in 2020 with a revenue share of 54%. Cleavable linkers take advantage of tumor cells’ inherent characteristics to release cytotoxins from ADCs selectively. In addition, they remain stable in the bloodstream for an extended period. Wide adoption of cleavable linker technology in ADC products, and a higher number of cleavable linker-based approved products are some of the factors contributing to the dominance of this segment. For instance, of all the approved ADCs till May 2021, more than 70% had cleavable linkers. Some of the products based on cleavable linker technology are Adcetris, Enhertu, Padcev, and Trodelvy.

The linkerless segment is expected to register the fastest CAGR during the forecast period. Currently, there is only one approved linkerless ADC in the market, Lumoxiti. The drug is made using the genetic fusion of Fv fragment of an anti-CD22 monoclonal antibody with the fragment of Pseudomonas exotoxin A (38k Da). The increasing uptake of Lumoxiti is expected to drive segment growth over the forecast period.

Regional Insights

North America dominated the market accounting for a revenue share of 57% in 2020. Its dominance can be attributed to the factors, such as increased awareness about current therapies, the presence of major players, high prevalence of cancer, and significant R&D expenditure. The U.S. FDA was also the first regulatory body to approve ADC drugs, such as Zynlonta, Blenrep, and Trodelvy.

Asia Pacific is expected to be the fastest-growing regional market over the forecast period. The rising cancer prevalence in the region coupled with increasing investment in R&D is expected to drive the market growth. Chinese companies, such as RemeGen Co. Ltd., Bio-Thera Solutions, and 3SBio Inc., are making significant investments in R&D for ADCs.

Key Companies & Market Share Insights

Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Seagen, Inc., and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company are the leading players in the market and together accounted for around 80% of the overall market share in 2020. Kadcyla and Polivy are the two key ADC products in Roche’s portfolio. Seagen, Inc. currently has Adcetris (approved for Lymphoma) and Padcev (approved for urothelial cancer) in its portfolio and is conducting clinical trials for the label expansion of these products. The company also has new ADC drug candidates in clinical trials, namely, Tisotumab vedotin in Phase 2 & 3 for cervical cancer, and Ladiratuzumab vedotin in Phase 2 for triple-negative breast cancer.

New product launch, development & commercialization partnerships/agreements, and M&As are key strategies used by market players to gain higher shares. For instance, in October 2020, Gilead completed the acquisition of Immunomedics, Inc. for around US$ 21 billion. This acquisition helped Gilead gain access to Immunomedics’ ADC portfolio. Immunomedics already had one commercialized ADC product, Trodelvy, and multiple products in clinical trials at the time of this acquisition.  Some of the prominent players in the global antibody drug conjugate market include:

• Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd.

• F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd.

• Pfizer, Inc.

• AstraZeneca

• Gilead Sciences, Inc.

• Astellas Pharma

• Seagen, Inc.

• Daiichi Sankyo Company Ltd.

• GlaxoSmithKline Plc

• ADC Therapeutics

Antibody Drug Conjugate Market Report Scope

Segments Covered in the Report

This report forecasts revenue growth at global, regional, and country levels and provides an analysis of the latest industry trends in each of the sub-markets from 2017 to 2028. For the purpose of this study, Grand View Research has segmented the global antibody drug conjugate market report on the basis of application, technology, and region:

• Application Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2028)

  • Blood Cancer

    • Leukemia

    • Lymphoma

    • Multiple Myeloma

  • Breast Cancer

  • UrothelialCancer & Bladder Cancer

  • Others

• Technology Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2028)

  • Cleavable Linker

  • Non- cleavable Linker

  • Linkerless

• Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2028)

  • North America

    • U.S.

    • Canada

  • Europe

    • Germany

    • U.K.

    • France

    • Italy

    • Spain

  • Asia Pacific

    • Japan

    • China

    • India

    • Australia

    • South Korea

  • Latin America

    • Brazil

    • Mexico

    • Argentina

  • MEA

    • South Africa

    • Saudi Arabia

    • UAE