$2 billion mRNA-based oncology therapy market anticipated by 2029

The global mRNA-based oncology therapy market is expected to reach $2 billion by 2029, according to GlobalData. BioNTech is anticipated to lead the market with a predicted $885 million in sales, and a 44.6 percent share by 2029, the research has shown.

Global mRNA-based oncology therapy market

At present, the pharmaceutical industry is still awaiting the first regulatory approval of an mRNA-based oncology therapy.

mRNA stability and delivery specificity are two of the main obstacles hindering progress for oncology therapy approvals, according to Biswajit Podder, PhD, Oncology and Hematology Analyst at GlobalData.

GlobalData’s research showed that within the clinical trials landscape, there are 36 mRNA-based products being investigated in 65 Phase I-III trials across multiple cancer indications. Additionally, there are 178 mRNA-based oncology therapies in total across all clinical stages of development.

Global RNA therapy clinical trials market to reach $3.5 billion by 2030

BioNTech

Development of mRNA-based oncology therapies for German biotech BioNTech is progressing.

At the end of August 2023, BioNTech announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) had recommended its adapted Comirnaty mRNA-based vaccine for regulatory approval as preventive treatment against the COVID-19 Omicron XBB.1.5 subvariant.

During the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2023 annual meeting, BioNTech revealed promising Phase I results for the pancreatic cancer drug BNT122 combined with the immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) atezolizumab.

BioNTech to support trial access for cancer immunotherapies

Developing an mRNA cancer vaccine

In terms of disease indication, melanoma remains the primary focus of advanced mRNA-based therapies, GlobalData reported.

The only mRNA-based therapy candidate in the ongoing Phase III clinical trial for stage IIB-IV cutaneous melanoma, in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) pembrolizumab, is Moderna/Merck‘s mRNA-4157.

If successful, this trial will mark the first time an mRNA cancer vaccine and an immune checkpoint inhibitor have shown improved recurrence-free survival rates. It will open new opportunities to boost the potential of mRNA-based therapies by combining them with other ICIs and expanding to other solid tumours, GlobalData stated.

“OTX-2002 from Omega Therapeutics is an mRNA therapy anticipated to generate $658 million in global sales, representing 33.2 percent of the total mRNA therapy market by 2029. Omega Therapeutics’s share suggests increasing competition and diversification in this innovative field,” concluded Podder.

Key developments: mRNA vaccines and therapeutics