Immunocytokines Market by Indication, Route of Administration, and Key Geographical Regions: Industry Trends and Global Forecasts, 2021-2030

Overview

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, accounting for an estimated 0.6 million deaths in 2020, in the US alone. The World Health Organization has estimated the number of new cancer cases to rise by 70%, worldwide, over the next 20 years. It is a well-known fact that the conventional treatment options, such as chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgery, demonstrate limited efficacy in late-stage cancers. Moreover, the non-specific and highly toxic nature of traditional chemotherapy and radiation therapy, have been demonstrated to have detrimental effects on patients’ quality of life. Amongst the emerging class of targeted anti-cancer therapies, immunotherapy has emerged as a versatile option, having demonstrated the capability to selectively target and eliminate tumor cells. As a result, such products have favorable side effects profiles. For instance, immune check point inhibitors (such as atezolizumab, nivolumab, and pembrolizumab) have been demonstrated to offer long term clinical benefits to patients suffering from metastatic tumors. Similarly, other immunotherapies, such as dendritic cell therapy, T cell receptor transduced T cells, and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-modified T cells have shown promising results in eradicating primary and metastasized cancer cells. However, these therapies have been associated with severe and often life-threatening side effects, such as cytokine storm. Moreover, for T-cell therapies, mispairing of endogenous and transfected TCR α and β chains have been demonstrated to have detrimental biological effects. 

Traditionally, cytokines have been investigated as a therapeutic modality across multiple clinical trials, particularly as anti-cancer agents. However, the systemic administration of such potent, biologically-active molecules has been shown to be associated with a wide range of dose-dependent side effects and unfavorable pharmacokinetic properties, which, in a way, hinders dose escalation to therapeutically beneficial levels. To overcome the treatment-limiting toxicities of cytokines, researchers are now focusing on immunocytokines. Immunocytokines are fusion proteins, featuring the target specificity of antibodies and the immunological response mediating capabilities of specific cytokines. These engineered pharmacologically-active molecules have, so far, demonstrated better efficacy and reduced toxicity compared to conventional cytokine-based therapies. As a result, immunocytokines are now being investigated for the treatment of a wide array of target indications, including cancers, autoimmune disorders, and certain chronic inflammatory diseases. It is also worth highlighting that this upcoming class of molecules has been demonstrated to work in synergy with certain other established therapeutics, including small molecule drugs (doxorubicin and cytarabine), intact antibodies (atezolizumab, durvalumab, ipilimumab, and nivolumab), radiation therapy, and other immunocytokines. Driven by encouraging clinical trial results, this niche, but emerging domain, is poised to witness healthy growth over the next decade, with pioneers in the field likely to benefit from the first-to-market advantage.

Scope of the Report

The “Immunocytokines Market, 2020-2030” report features an extensive study of the current and future potential of immunocytokines being developed for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and various types of cancer. 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 immunocytokines, providing information on phase of development (phase III, phase II/III, phase II, phase I/II, phase I, and discovery/preclinical stage) of lead candidates, type of therapy (monotherapy and combination therapy), type of cytokine used (IL, IFN, TGF-β, TNF, and others), type of antibody used (anti-CD20, anti-CEA, anti-CTLA-4, anti-DNA, anti-EDA, anti-EDB, anti-FAP, anti-GC2, anti-Her2, anti-KS, anti-PD-L1, anti-PD-1, anti-TA-MUC1, and anti-Tenascin-C), target disease indications (blood cancer, brain cancer, breast cancer, gastrointestinal cancer, gynecological cancer, head and neck cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer, renal cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, skin cancer, undisclosed solid tumors, and others), and route of administration (intravenous, intratumoral, subcutaneous, and others). In addition, the report presents the details of the companies developing these immunocytokines, including information on year of establishment, company size, and location of headquarters.
• Tabulated profiles of prominent immunocytokine developers. 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 recent developments in the field of immunocytokines. It includes partnerships inked by various stakeholders in this domain, during the period between January 2016 and October 2020, covering clinical trial agreements, licensing agreements, mergers and acquisitions, research agreements, research and development agreements, and others. In addition, the report features an analysis of the investments made, including debt funding, equity, venture capital financing, capital raised from IPOs and subsequent offerings, at various stages of development, in companies that are focused on developing immunocytokines.
• An in-depth analysis of completed, ongoing, and planned clinical studies of various immunocytokines, based on various 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.
• A list of key opinion leaders (KOLs) within this domain, and detailed 2×2 matrices to assess the relative experience of key individuals who were shortlisted based on their contribution (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) and an analysis evaluating the (relative) level of expertise of different KOLs, based on number of publications, number of citations, participation in clinical trials, number of affiliations, and strength of professional network (based on information available on LinkedIn).

One of the key objectives of the report was to estimate the existing market size and potential future growth opportunities. Based on various parameters, such as disease prevalence, anticipated adoption of immunocytokines, and the likely selling price of such therapeutic products, we have provided informed estimates on the evolution of the market for the period 2020-2030. The report also features the likely distribution of the current and forecasted opportunity across [A] target disease indications (cervical cancer, cholangiocarcinoma, esophageal cancer, gallbladder cancer, head and neck cancer, melanoma, non-small cell lung cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, and soft tissue sarcoma), [B] routes of administration (intravenous, intratumoral, and subcutaneous), and [C] key geographical regions (US, Canada, Germany, UK, France, Italy, Spain, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Brazil, Argentina, Israel, and Turkey). In order to account for future uncertainties and to add robustness to our model, we have provided three market forecast scenarios, namely conservative, base, and optimistic scenarios, representing different tracks of the industry’s growth.

The opinions and insights presented in the report were influenced by discussions held with senior stakeholders in the industry. The report features detailed transcripts of interviews held with the following industry stakeholders:

• Stephen Gillies, President and CEO, Provenance Biopharmaceuticals
• Patrik Kehler, Senior Director Scientific and Business Development, Glycotope

All actual figures have been sourced and analyzed from publicly available information forums and primary research discussions. Financial figures mentioned in this report are in USD, unless otherwise specified.

Key Questions Answered

• Who are the leading players engaged in the development of immunocytokines?
• Which cancer indications can be treated with immunocytokines?
• Which partnership models are commonly adopted by stakeholders engaged 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?