Pharma and Biotech to invest in RNA therapeutics to expedite research & development

Pharma and Biotech to Highly Invest in RNA Therapeutics to Expedite Research & Development across the Globe

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Frost & Sullivan’s recent analysis, Global RNA Therapeutics: Technology Growth Opportunities, reveals that ribonucleic acid (RNA) therapeutics is poised to gain momentum in the next few years and can potentially be applied to a wide variety of disease interventions.

Additionally, the growth opportunities exposed by the initial commercialization of mRNA vaccines, antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) and short interfering RNA (siRNA)-based therapeutics are further attracting pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to invest in this space and expedite research and development (R&D).

“Advances in RNA stability, manufacturing, chemical modification, and targeted delivery systems have led to the commercial translation of RNA therapeutics,” said Ruplekha Choudhurie, TechVision Industry Analyst at Frost & Sullivan in a statement. “RNAs are relatively easy to manufacture, cost-effective, and can act on undruggable targets. As a result, academic labs and small biotech companies are accelerating RNA therapeutics research, alongside Tier 1 biopharmaceutical companies.”

Choudhurie added: “RNAs have certain advantages over deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and small molecule drugs, such as eliminating the risk of genomic integration, being relatively cost-effective, and having rapid development and production. Hence, RNA therapeutics investment has a better chance of commercial success and enables better returns in less time for market participants. Specifically, for the development of vaccines for COVID-19 and other emerging infectious disease outbreaks, mRNA vaccines have an advantage over other types of vaccines as they can be rapidly developed and amenable to modifications to target evolving viral variants.”

The advantages of RNA therapeutics over conventional small molecule drugs and other biological drugs present immense growth opportunities for market players, including:

• Formulation and delivery of RNA therapeutics: Lipid-nanoparticles were used for delivery formulation in the previously approved RNA therapeutics, and similar (RNA-LNPs) formulations have been considered standard. Rapid formulation and delivery advances will improve the future of RNA delivery and help overcome the intrinsic stability issues of RNA.
• Stability of mRNA vaccines and RNA therapeutics at ambient temperature: Novel formulations that improve mRNA stability at ambient temperatures would facilitate the worldwide application of mRNA vaccines more rapidly and at a much lower cost. This will benefit mRNA vaccines and the entire RNA therapeutics field in general.
• mRNA vaccines and active participation of big pharmaceutical companies: Currently, RNA therapeutics is one of the fastest and most promising approaches in biological therapeutics. Due to this, many stakeholders are investing heavily in mRNA vaccines.