This article understands the reason behind the CXO track players’ layout of peptides Peptide drugs have a wide range of applications and development prospects

Major companies in the peptide drug industry: Shengnuo Biological (688117)

Definition: Peptide drugs combine the advantages of small molecule drugs and protein drugs

Polypeptides are biologically active substances involved in various cell functions in organisms and are indispensable participants in life activities. At present, more than 7,000 natural peptides have been discovered, involving hormones, nerves, cell growth and reproduction and other fields. It is widely involved in and regulates the functional activities of various systems, organs and cells in the human body.

Various human endocrine hormones, such as thyroxine, insulin, pituitary hormones, neuropeptides, enkephalins, growth factors, and luteinizing hormones are all polypeptide substances. From the perspective of application fields, peptides have been widely used in many fields such as medicine, food, health products, cosmetics, biological materials, biological pesticides, etc. Among them, the application of peptides in the field of medicine mainly includes peptide drugs, peptide vaccines, peptide diagnosis reagents, etc.

Polypeptide drugs refer to polypeptides with specific therapeutic effects obtained through chemical synthesis, genetic recombination or extraction from animals and plants, and are specific applications of polypeptides in the field of medicine. Peptide drugs are mainly derived from endogenous polypeptides or other natural polypeptides, with clear structures and clear mechanisms of action.

Compared with general small-molecule drugs, they have higher activity and stronger selectivity, and have obvious advantages in the treatment of complex diseases. And because the polypeptide itself is a compound composed of amino acids, its metabolites are amino acids, which generally have no or very little side effects on the human body.

Compared with protein drugs, polypeptide drugs have relatively good stability, high purity, low production cost, and immunogenicity. The quality control level can also be close to that of traditional small-molecule drugs. In the drug development stage, the affinity, solubility, and pharmacokinetic properties of drug candidates can also be improved by chemical modification. (stability), toxicity, etc., to support rapid screening of drug candidates.

In short, peptide drugs combine the advantages of small molecule drugs and protein drugs, and have the advantages of good stability, strong specificity, low impurities, good curative effect, and low toxicity and side effects, and can widely act on the endocrine system, immune system, Digestive system, cardiovascular system, blood system, musculoskeletal system, etc.

Application areas: mainly distributed in 7 major disease treatment areas

Polypeptide drugs are mainly for the treatment of chronic diseases. At present, the international peptide drugs are mainly distributed in 7 major disease treatment fields, including rare diseases, tumors, diabetes, gastrointestinal tract, orthopedics, immunity, cardiovascular diseases, etc. Among them, rare diseases, Tumor and diabetes are the “troika” driving the peptide drug market, and the other four fields are also full of blockbuster varieties. Representative varieties include liraglutide, dulaglutide, semaglutide, leuprolide, Teriparatide, Octreotide, Exenatide, etc.

Market size: The market is developing slowly

Pharmaceutical and biotech companies that do not have the technical expertise and in-house production facilities to meet regulatory requirements also rely on peptide CDMOs to produce peptide APIs. In addition, outsourcing the development and production of peptides to external service providers can provide certain advantages for peptide pharmaceutical companies seeking to achieve efficient production in peptide drug R&D projects.

External peptide drug production and R&D service providers have professional talents and knowledge, advanced equipment and methods, customized development and production capabilities, and have the advantages of quality, cost and risk control systems. Therefore, the trend of outsourcing the development and production of peptide drugs to external service providers is expected to continue in the coming years due to the growing demand for peptide CDMO services.

According to data from Frost & Sullivan, the market size of peptide CDMOs in China has fluctuated from US$100 million in 2016 to US$100 million in 2020, far below the global growth rate.

Prospect forecast: China’s market size will reach 1 billion US dollars in 2030, with a higher growth rate than the world

Driven by the continuous growth of the global peptide drug market, as well as the increase in overall drug R&D expenditure, technological progress, penetration rate and the emergence of emerging biotech companies, the global peptide CDMO service market has continued to grow in the past few years and is expected to grow in the next few years. The same trend will be maintained in 2010.

More and more pharmaceutical companies are outsourcing process development and peptide production to CDMOs in order to focus on their core competencies in drug discovery, clinical development and commercialization.

In particular, CDMOs are preferred by several large pharmaceutical companies for the production and finishing of peptide APIs because CDMOs have production capabilities and technologies that are not available in-house, allowing pharmaceutical companies to produce peptide APIs in a more cost-effective manner. More companies are expected to use CDMO services to prevent or reduce internal technical challenges in peptide production.

According to Frost & Sullivan’s forecast, the global peptide CDMO market will increase from US$2 billion in 2020 to US$4.4 billion in 2025, with a CAGR of 17.7% from 2020 to 2025, and will further increase to 2030 $7.9 billion in 2020, with a CAGR of 12.1% from 2025 to 2030.

In the Chinese market, peptide CDMO will rise from US$100 million in 2020 to US$400 million in 2025, with a compound annual growth rate of 26.6%; it will further rise to US$1 billion in 2030, with a compound annual growth rate of 21%; far outpaced global growth.