INTRODUCTION
STUDY GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
New methods for drug discovery and delivery are receiving considerable
attention in the pharmaceutical industry and in the media. Reports indicate that
trial-and-error discovery methods have been replaced by focused combinatorial
chemistry, computer-aided drug design, and other processes that focus on
directed approaches to finding new drugs and new drug targets. Furthermore,
high-throughput systems, automated assays and other advanced systems aid
analysis of all of the compounds created by these methods. Finally, as the
capital poured into drug discovery has increased, so have the incentives for
instrument companies and others to produce advanced equipment in a timely
manner. The result of all this effort and new technology, in theory, will be to
reduce development costs and development times while increasing knowledge about
each new agent's mode of action.
This study examines how the drug discovery industry's push to find more
drugs, sooner, has affected the industries that supply it with instruments and
services. It also analyzes how new technologies like DNA chips and
pharmacogenomics will affect the future of pharmaceutical agents, and how
markets for these products will develop in the next five years. A discussion of
the Sales and spending projections through 2005 are included.
REASONS FOR DOING THE STUDY
Molecular biology has given scientists detailed knowledge about basic and
complex biological processes. One result of this new knowledge has been an
explosion in the development of sophisticated pharmaceutical agents. For
example, the number of drug candidates that have been screened in the last ten
years has increased by three orders of magnitude: in 1990, approximately 500,000
drug compounds were screened; for the year 2000, that number is estimated at 1.5
billion.
This rapid growth has led to widespread availability of commercial
instrumentation and reagents that speed screening. Systems for high-throughput
screening are especially important, and they have been developed for
fluorescent, colorimetric and radioactive assays. Analyzing developments in
instrumentation is essential to understanding how the market for screening tools
will develop in the near future.
AUDIENCE FOR THE REPORT
This report is directed at decision-makers in each industry segment, as well
as at individuals and organizations considering investing in drug discovery or
drug discovery technology. These people include, but are not limited to the
following:
Venture capitalists
Merger and acquisition executives
Market and product management professionals
Chief scientists and technical officers
Equipment manufacturers
Reagent suppliers
SCOPE AND FORMAT
This report is a tool whose purpose is to analyze the newly emerging industry
in drug discovery research. The section following this introduction provides a
summary of the report and its conclusions. An overview of the market and a brief
discussion of relevant scientific principles follow the summary. The ensuing
sections analyze current and future market trends and the importance of each new
drug discovery method to the overall market. There is also an analysis of
patents and their importance to the industry.
The study considers new technologies for drug R&D, as well as instruments
and reagents for synthesis, purification and characterization of compounds. The
research in this study is limited to the very earliest stages of research:
acquiring compounds, preparing them, and analyzing them. The report's appendices
contain directories of companies and other entities involved in drug discovery
research, as well as a directory of instrument and reagent suppliers.
METHODOLOGY AND INFORMATION SOURCES
The material for this report was gathered from interviews with individuals in
the industry, as well as from a thorough review of technology gathered from
secondary sources. These sources include company annual reports, SEC filings,
other company literature, trade literature, trade associations, and online
sources including company web sites.
Projections were based on such estimates as the current number of end users,
funding levels, potential end users, likely unit prices and rates of
consumption. Final projections are based on an analysis of information from
primary and secondary sources. All dollar projections are presented in year 2000
constant dollars.
BCC INFORMATION AND RELATED BCC STUDIES
BCC has been a leader in market research and consulting since 1971. Over the
last several years, BCC has produced numerous in-depth analyses of technologies
and business opportunities in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.
Some of these reports include:
C-088U Antibodies for Therapeutic and Diagnostic Imaging Applications,
Including Monoclonals and Polyclonals
C-160R Human Gene Therapy: Technology Analysis & Market Forecast
B-119 Cell Therapy and Tissue Engineering: Emerging Products
C-181R The Evolving Drug Industry: New Strategies, Product Trends
B-138 European Pharmaceutical Industry
DDR-99 Drug Discovery Industry Review
DISCLAIMER
The information in this report is as reliable as possible and of a
professional nature. However, the author assumes no liability for the reported
information or its use, nor does the author assume liability for any loss or
damage as a result of any reliance on any materials or any information
developed. This document is not a legal or accounting document and much of the
information in it is speculative.
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