Focus on precision medicine is encouraging R&D across the cell therapy market with Big Pharma/Bio-Pharma responding through collaborations with small to mid-segment players with niche therapeutic focus, thereby gaining a competitive edge with respect to therapy, technology as well as geographic spread. The market was valued at $2.70 billion in 2017 and is expected to reach $8.21 billion in 2025, growing at a robust compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.9% between 2017 and 2025. A diverse therapeutic focus, accompanied by rising M&A activities and implementation of advanced manufacturing technologies such as single-use bioreactors, will pave a way for unique cell-gene and stem cell – gene combination therapies.

“In addition to collaborations, pharmas are employing a pay-for-performance business model that allows the payer to pay based on the therapeutic outcome of the high-value therapy,” said Aarti Chitale, Senior Research Analyst Transformational Health. “Novartis and Gilead are among the first companies to adopt this pricing model for their ground-breaking CAR-T Cell therapies Kymriah and Yescarta, respectively. In addition to innovative pricing models, Pharma companies are also showing a preference for risk sharing and fast-to-market models in order to support the development of novel therapies.”

Frost & Sullivan’s recent analysis, Growth Opportunities in the Global Cell Therapy Market, Forecast to 2025, presents revenue analysis at global and regional levels, as well as some of the key market drivers and restraints that affect long-term growth. There is also a focus on the regulatory challenges to market expansion and drug development across emerging markets, including China and South Korea.

“Amendments in regulatory and reimbursement policies, as well as the implementation of conditional approval policies for RM, will further drive the market by expediting product launches,” noted Chitale. “Additionally, improvements in cell culturing techniques alongside the use of different stem cells such as adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs), mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), and induced Pluripotent Stem Cell will strengthen the market with superior treatment options for non-oncological conditions such as neurological, musculoskeletal, and dermatological conditions.”

With the rising demand for cell therapies, the following growth opportunities have multiplied for vendors:

• Wide-ranging therapeutic focus across both oncology and non-oncology conditions. With more than 959 ongoing regenerative medicine clinical trials, the market finds opportunity across both stem cell and non-stem cell based therapies.
• Curative Combination Therapies which help to improve response rates among patients while reducing the duration of response. These therapies also find application in identifying the right patient as well as predicting the immune response in cancer patients.
• Manufacturing Automation by means of implementation of IT solutions and single-use manufacturing techniques for optimizing small-volume, high-value manufacturing of novel cell therapies, thereby reducing the time to market drastically.
• Emerging Business Models which help market players focus on academic and research collaborations alongside industry collaborations to support therapeutic and technological innovations.