Glycosylation Analysis Services Market by Company Size, Analytical Techniques and Key Geographical Regions: Industry Trends and Global Forecasts, 2021-2030

Overview

Recombinant glycoprotein therapeutics, which include antibody-based interventions, have emerged as one of the fastest growing classes of pharmacologically active molecules. Till date, over 67% of biologics and 80% of biosimilars approved by the FDA, feature some form of glycosylation. In fact, the pipeline of such interventions is also growing at a commendable pace (CAGR of over 20%). It is important to highlight that for higher eukaryotes, such as humans, glycosylation of certain biomolecules is not only important from the functional perspective, but it also imparts beneficial pharmacological properties, which influence efficacy, solubility, stability, and antigen binding. Further, glycans represent a promising class of biomarkers that are useful for disease prognosis, diagnosis, and assist in the prediction of treatment efficacy. In this context, several tumor-associated (aberrant) glycan molecules (such as Tn, sialyl-T and sialyl-Tn), as well as virulent glycoproteins on pathogenic viral envelopes (such as the glycan shield associated with the SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein), are presently being investigated as viable therapeutic targets.

Given the complexities associated with glycan analysis, it is difficult for non-specialist researchers and therapy developers, to effectively analyze this aspect of biomolecules. Moreover, the associated analytical procedures are further complicated by multi-step analytical protocols and technically demanding expertise, which eventually lead to contamination of samples and lack of reproducibility in test results. Recent evolution in the approach (such as the use of orthogonal techniques and the middle-up strategy) to analyzing data generated from the diverse bioanalytical techniques used in glycan profiling, necessitate extensive domain expertise. Consequently, drug developers and medical researchers are increasingly relying on contract service providers with the necessary analytical expertise and technical infrastructure, for their glycan analysis needs. Currently, more than 130 industry and non- industry players claim to be actively providing glycan analysis services. In the recent past, a number of stakeholders in the services sector, have forged strategic alliances with and/or acquired other players offering glycan analysis or related services, in order to further enhance their respective portfolios. Considering the growing trend of outsourcing and the ongoing efforts of service providers to improve/expand their respective offerings, we believe the contract services market for glycan analysis is likely to grow at a steady pace, till 2030.

Scope of the Report

The “Glycosylation Analysis Services Market, 2021- 2030” report features an extensive study on the current market landscape, offering an informed opinion on the likely evolution of the market, over the next decade. The study underlines an in-depth analysis of the various services offered for assessing glycosylation related attributes, in biopharmaceutical, biomedical and clinical samples. 

Amongst other elements, the report includes:

• A detailed review of the overall landscape of the glycan analysis services market, highlighting the contributions of industry players, along with the information on their year of establishment, company size, geographical location of headquarters, type of service(s) offered (glycan profiling and heterogeneity analysis, glycosylation site mapping and occupancy analysis, site- specific glycosylation analysis, glycan structure analysis, monosaccharide quantification analysis and protein- glycan binding analysis), type of glycoconjugate and glycan analyzed (N- glycan, O- glycan and glycolipid), type of sample analyzed (biotherapeutics and cellular), type of analyte processed (intact glycoprotein, glycopeptide, released glycan, monosaccharide and polysaccharide), type of analytical technique used (chromatography, spectroscopy, electrophoresis and microarray- based technique), application area (R&D/early- stage drug development and in- process drug development) It also provides information on the additional services offered (peptide mapping, post- translational modification analysis, protein terminal sequencing and glycan/glycoconjugate synthesis), and availability of synthetic glycans and analytical kits/tests.  In addition, it provides information on the type of glycoanalytical service offered and type of technique used by non-industry players.
• A region-wise company competitiveness analysis, highlighting the most prominent glycan analysis service providers, based on their supplier strength (in terms of experience and company size), and portfolio specifications (in terms of number of services offered, number of analytical techniques used, types of glycans analyzed, types of analytes processed and applications).
• Elaborate profiles of prominent service providers in this domain. Each company profile includes a brief overview of the company, its financial information (if available), information on service portfolio, recent developments, and an informed future outlook.
• A detailed assessment of the current market landscape of surface glycan targeting therapeutics, providing information on the phase of development (commercial, clinical, preclinical, and discovery) of lead candidates, target disease indication and therapeutic area, type of drug molecule (antibody, antibody-drug conjugate, enzyme, glyco- conjugate vaccine and CAR- T cells), target glycan/glycoconjugate molecule, type of therapy (monotherapy, combination therapy and both), and technology platform used. In addition, it provides details on drug developer(s), including information on their year of establishment, company size, and location of headquarters.
• A detailed analysis of grants that have been awarded to research institutes for surface glycan targeting therapeutic projects, during the period, 2016 and 2021, based on several relevant parameters, such as year of grant award, amount awarded, administering institute center, support period, type of grant application, purpose of grant award, activity code, study section involved, type of recipient organizations and focus area. In addition, it highlights geographical distribution of recipient organizations, popular funding institute centers, prominent program officers, and popular recipient organizations. 
• An analysis of the partnerships that have been established in this domain since 2015, covering instances of acquisitions and mergers, licensing agreements, product development agreements, process development agreement, research agreements, and other relevant types of deals.
• A detailed analysis of the various mergers and acquisitions that have taken place in this domain, highlighting the trend in the number of companies acquired during the time period between 2015- 2021, based on several relevant parameters, such as year of agreement, type of deal, geographical location of headquarters, company size, and the key value drivers. In addition, it represents an ownership change matrix, providing a summary of the involvement of private and public sector entities in this domain.
• A case study on the potential clients of glycan analysis services providers; it presents a list of Fc glycoengineered antibody developers, along with information on their year of establishment, company size, and location of headquarters. In addition, it provides information on phase of development of the glycoengineered antibody, target disease indication, therapeutic area, type of molecule, its biological target, type of therapy, route of administration, impact of Fc engineering and technology platform used.

One of the key objectives of the report was to estimate the existing market size and potential future growth opportunities of glycan analysis service providers. Based on various parameters, such as the number of projects completed annually, price of the projects, the overall R&D expenditure available to CROs and the overall growth of the glycoprotein therapeutics market, we have developed informed estimates on the evolution of the market for the period 2021-2030. Our year-wise projections of the current and forecasted opportunity have further been segmented across company size (small, mid-sized and large), analytical techniques used (spectroscopy, chromatography, microarrays and electrophoresis), key geographical locations (North America, Europe and Asia- Pacific). In order to account for future uncertainties and to add robustness to our model, we have provided three forecast scenarios, portraying the conservative, base and optimistic tracks of the market’s evolution.

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

• Biswa Choudhury (Technical Director, GlycoAnalytics Core, University of California)
• Erdmann Rapp (Founder and Chief Executive Officer, glyXera)
• Juhani Saarinen (Chief Executive Officer, Glykos Finland)  

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 industry and non- industry players offering glycan analysis services?
• Which are the key geographies where glycan analysis service providers are located?
• What are the common analytical techniques used by the service providers?
• What are the prevalent R&D trends related to surface glycan targeting therapies? 
• Which surface glycan molecules are targeted by such therapies?
• What are the key therapeutic areas for which such therapies are being/have been developed? 
• Who are the leading players engaged in the development of surface glycan targeting therapies?
• Which partnership models are commonly adopted by stakeholders in this industry?
• What are the key value drivers of the merger and acquisition activity within this domain?
• How is the current and future opportunity, related to glycan analysis services, likely to be distributed across key market segments?