Nanomedicine is the area of nanotechnology which deals with highly specific molecular diagnostics, prevention, and treatment of diseases using nanoscience and technology. It refers to the part of nanotechnology which deals with healthcare to make medically and pharmaceutically useful drugs. Nanomedicine contains drugs belonging to a multifunctional domain whose properties are programmable. They find application in biomedical detection, prevention, and treatment.
The global size of the nanomedicine market in 2016 was USD 138.8 billion and is estimated to reach up to USD 350.8 billion in 2025. Nanotechnology involves the adoption of nano-scaled miniaturizations of large structures that have revolutionalized the administration of drugs. Nano-driven therapies and drugs influence the global market of nanomedicine by attributing to its growth in the future. The increase in demand for nano-based reagents that are biocompatible and offer longer life has led to the exploitation of the field.
The recent advancements in the nanomedicine market and the successful results of the drugs on cancer have driven nanotechnology towards tremendous growth in a short period. Many leading companies have started to uptake nano-based products by building partnerships and promoting nanomedicine based startups. In November 2015, a global collaboration was made between Ablynx and Novo Nordisk along with the signing of a licensing agreement that covered the nanomedicine development through novel drugs. The signed partnership has the potential for an increase in the net rate annually of products involved in the uplift of market growth. Nanomedicine development is a vast process covering lab to market for approval which is costly and time-consuming along with stringent regulations.
The nanomedicine market includes the development of product types such as metal and metal oxide nanoparticles, nano molecules, polymer-drug conjugates, dendrimers, nanodevices, etc. These products find their application in vaccine development, manufacturing of regenerative medicine, targeted drug delivery, bioimaging, biosensing, and therapeutics.
The popularity of this field in R&D shows potential in the treatment of many chronic life-threatening diseases including oncological diseases, infectious diseases, neurological diseases, urological disorder, orthopedic disorder, cardiovascular diseases, and immunological diseases by providing aid in treatment and diagnostics of the same. Out of these diseases, cancer has been exploited the most due to the expensive and limited treatment options of the fatal disease. Other than cancer, nanomedicine is also popular in the treatment of neurological disorders. It has been seen that many brain-related disorders can arise due to neurological and psychological conditions. The list contains life-threatening diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson, etc which have been proposed to be treated with nanomedicine combined with stem cell technology. Metallic nanoparticles like gold nanoparticles along with lipid and chitosan nanoparticles have found to be helpful in CNS treatment.
Nanoparticles in nanomedicine
In nanotechnology, many alterations can be made to the material owing to its novel properties. Nanoparticles comprise of metal, metal oxide, dendrimers, liposomes, etc whose structures can be manipulated according to the desired application. Quantum dots, quantum rods, nanoflowers, nanosheets, core-shell, and many more are the examples of the nanostructures obtained via different synthesis routes. The innate property of nanoparticle which provides it with a large surface area to volume ratio is combined with chemical molecules acting as scaffolds and used in many ways. These nanoparticles are used as a target that binds to the receptor of the cell and used for targeted drug delivery in the developing field of nanomedicine.
Nanomedicine has been anticipated to have a high demand in the market due to its potential to influence industrial growth. The development of nanomedicine is also popular as many have landed in phase-2 of clinical development and are expected to commercialize in upcoming years adding to the revenue.
Global Market of Nanomedicine
Globally, North America is the leading continent with a share of 42% in the nanomedicine market due to the increasing partnerships along with the startup of enterprises of this background. High expenditure on R&D and government projects has also contributed towards its fair share in this market surpassing Europe and Latin America who are decent shareholders. However, Asia Pacific tends to lag but is expected to hold its part until 2025 due to the increase in research grants and demand for treatment of life-threatening diseases. Due to the increase in international research collaborations and capital investors in developing countries, Asia Pacific will soon create a platform for nanomedicine.
The nanomedicine market has many operating companies that have already gained US FDA approval starting from CombiMatrix Corp., Ablynx NV, Abraxis Bioscience Inc., etc to Celgene Corporation, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd, Arrowhead Research, Johnson & Johnson, GE Healthcare, Merck & Co. Inc., Pfizer Inc., and Nanosphere, Inc. The approval has only increased the market presence of these companies and they may be the future of nanomedicine.
Nanomedicine Market in India
India is a developing country where the adoption of nanomedicine products has been slow. Novel nanomedicine can drive market growth. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the government has initiated many grants and funds for the improvement of healthcare facilities. Research has been a savior in this pandemic. Owing to its promising future nanomedicine is anticipated to add towards the country's economy. The market of nanomedicines in India is predicted to grow at the highest CAGR of 13.4% from 2016 to 2023.
The drivers of the nanomedicine market include the government as well as the private funding bodies in the area of research and development. With a significant increase in the number of chronic diseases at the global level, an awareness of the application of nanomedicines has also increased. Recent progress in the field of nanorobotics also contributes towards the growth of the market of nanomedicine. Currently, there is a rise in the demand for treatment with fewer or no side effects at an inexpensive rate in popular culture. The drawback of nanoscale manufacturing, the requirement of huge capital, strict regulatory bodies, and delay in the process of approval act as a hurdle for the nanomedicine market growth. Asian countries like China have also evolved in the last decade to take up nanotechnology to market in the form of nanomedicine. China being a developed country and the holder of the largest manufacturing market in the world shows great potential to add up to the global market.
Therefore, it is evident the nanomedicine will have a significant role to play soon. Their potential use cannot be denied or overlooked. Today, nanomedicine faces many challenges in the form of acceptance, approval, and lack of proper funding to the field. These challenges may be an obstacle which needs to be overcome and create new opportunities for stakeholders as well as add value to the global GDP.