The Economic Opportunity
The Economic Opportunity
The potential for stem cell therapeutics and regenerative medicine to mitigate or cure disease represents an enormous economic opportunity. Even the most conservative estimates value the total market in the US$2-3 billion range over the next five years. TriMark Publications, LLC, a global leader in market research and intelligence for biotechnology, healthcare and life sciences, forecasts the global market for stem cell products and services to $104 billion by 2012. PA Consulting Group, a global consulting firm estimates the worldwide market for media to preserve cells, tissues, and organs for research and clinical applications will grow from $200 million in 2007 to nearly $350 million by 2011. Some stem cell-based products are already on the market such as Carticel® (autologous chondrocytes, marketed by Genzyme), and Apligraf ® (a skin substitute manufactured by Organogenesis using human and bovine fibroblasts). As of December 2006 there were 75 ongoing US Food and Drug Administration approved clinical trials involving stem cells. The development of new drugs that act on stem cells will also become an important component of the regenerative medicine market. As noted, erythropoietin (Epo), a drug that expands red blood cell volume by targeting the differentiation of blood progenitors, has been widely deployed in the clinic to treat anaemia. Amgen's Epogen had 2004 US sales of $2.6 billion, while Aranesp, a derivative of Epo, had sales of $2.5 billion in 2004.
