According to a newly released report from NanoMarkets, an industry consulting firm based here, nanotechnology-enabled drug delivery systems will generate over $1.7 billion ($US) in 2009 and over $4.8 billion in 2012.

The global drug delivery products and services market is projected to surpass US$67 billion in 2009. NanoMarkets research indicates that nano-enabled solutions will capture a small but rapidly growing percentage of this total market based on their ability to reduce times to market, extend product life cycles, provide patent protection and create additional revenue streams.

NanoMarkets key findings in this report include the following:

• Nano-enabled drug delivery systems will allow for reformulations which will protect patent holders against generic competing products and help firms boost profits, a key issue in the drug industry today, which is suffering from high R&D costs and a scarcity of blockbuster drugs.
• Oral delivery of active compounds is, and is expected to remain, the primary means of administering drugs for the pharmaceutical industry. NanoMarkets believes that the largest portion of nanotechnology R&D funding will be used in development of these types of systems and that this will be one of the big success stories in nanotechnology-enabled drug delivery.
• Nano-enabled polymeric delivery systems account for the single largest market opportunity, as projected by NanoMarkets. This conclusion is based on some of the early successes experienced by companies such as Elan Pharmaceuticals (which already has several products on the market), as well as feedback from large pharmaceutical companies that are investing heavily in this segment.
• Imaging agents will become one of the most lucrative applications in nano- enabled drug delivery. The industry has been rapidly adopting biomarkers and pharmacogenomic testing regimens into drug discovery and delivery, which may speed time-to- market and enhance clinical evidence of a compounds efficacy.
• Nano-enabled cancer therapeutics are also highly promising. Dendrimer-based drug delivery systems are gaining in popularity, though NanoMarkets claims that additional time will be needed before widespread acceptance of this technology.
• A new wave of nano-oriented start-ups is expected to enter the field with less expensive and less risky means to fill drug pipelines with innovative products. These companies will require lots of cash and other resources that large biotech and pharma companies can provide. As a result, NanoMarkets expects that merger and acquisition, and partnership opportunities will flourish.

About the Report:

This NanoMarkets report, titled, "Nano Drug Delivery," examines which of the many emerging nano-enabled drug delivery systems have the best prospects and when and where they are likely to be used. Areas covered include encapsulation technologies, implantable delivery methods, imaging agents and microneedles. Technologies covered include dendrimers, nanotubes and fullerenes, nanoparticles, quantum dots and magnetic/electrical targeting methods.

The report also takes a look at the technical, market and regulatory barriers to implementing nano-enabled drug delivery systems, noting likely differences in implementation patterns in the major industrialized countries. It also forecasts the market for new technologies broken out by drug delivery type and technology platform.