Plant Based Protein Expression Market

At present, biotechnology companies are on the look-out for cost-effective solutions such as plant-based expression systems, in order to support their research and manufacturing initiatives

-- Chief Project Manager, Business Development & Co-Founder, Europe-based mid-sized Company

Plant Based Protein Expression Market Overview

The plant based protein expression market is estimated to be worth $1.3 billion in 2022 and is expected to grow at compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.9% during the forecast period. A significant rise in the popularity of biologics has been observed over the years. The demand for such treatment modalities further witnessed a surge post the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. At present, about 85% of the drug candidates are produced using mammalian cell cultures. However, such systems are associated with a number of challenges; these include risk of introducing pathogens, concerns related to scale-up, decrease in productivity and rise in byproduct formation. It is also worth highlighting that research indicates that the existing mammalian cell capacities are likely to fulfill only 50% of the inflated demand (due to COVID-19) for biologics. In this context, owing to some major advances in synthetic organic chemistry, plant based expression systems have emerged as a promising alternative for the development of biologics. It is worth mentioning that plant-host engineering allows the production of proteins with distinct and uniform post-translational modifications, allowing the development of biologics, which demonstrate higher effectiveness, as compared to those produced using other protein expression systems, such as mammalian or yeast-based cell cultures. Plant-based biologics are safer, as they pose negligible risk of introducing human and animal pathogens in the therapy candidates. Additionally, plant molecular farming has the ability to facilitate rapid (4-8 weeks) plant-based biologics manufacturing at a large scale (several grams), as well as to meet the emergency demands (as observed in the case of COVID-19 pandemic). Moreover, the running costs of a GMP plant-based manufacturing facility are reported to be 25% less than those using other expression systems.

Given the aforementioned factors, pharmaceutical players are actively adopting plant-based expression systems for the production of various recombinant proteins. A wide range of vaccine candidates, plant-based enzymes, therapeutic proteins (including monoclonal antibodies) and nutritional proteins have also been produced via transgenic and transient expression in entire plants or plant cell cultures. Currently, close to 50 plant-based therapies have been developed / are being evaluated and more than 35 plant-based expression system providers are actively offering their proprietary technologies to drug developers. Multiple partnerships between industry and non-industry stakeholders, focused on the development of plant-based therapies, have been established. Driven by increasing prevalence of disease indications, growing demand for biologics, the ongoing efforts being carried out to advance the development of such products, as well as further optimize the associated technologies, the global plant based protein expression market is likely to witness a healthy market growth during the forecast period.

Key Companies in Plant Based Protein Expression Market 

Examples of key companies engaged in plant based protein expression market (which have also been profiled in this market report; the complete list of companies is available in the full report) include Medicago, Leaf Expression Systems, Eleva, iBIO, PlantForm, G+Flas Life Sciences, Kentucky Bioprocessing and Angany. This market report includes an easily searchable excel database of all the companies in the plant based protein expression market, worldwide.

Recent Developments in Plant Based Protein Expression Market:

Several recent developments have taken place in the field of plant based protein expression market. We have outlined some of these recent initiatives below. These developments, even if they took place post the release of our market report, substantiate the overall market trends that have been outlined in our analysis.

• In May 2023, Chiesi Global Rare Diseases and ProTalix BioTherapeutics announced the approval of ELFABRIO enzyme replacement therapy by the US FDA for the treatment of Fabry disease in adult patients. ELFABRIO is a recombinant human enzyme expressed in plant cell culture optimized to offer a longer half-life. 
• In September 2022, Leaf Expression Systems (LES) entered into a licensing agreement with KBio. Under the terms of the agreement, KBio planned to integrate LES’ technologies to its plant-based platform for the development of novel protein-based therapeutics.

Scope of the Report

The “Plant Based Protein Expression Market by Type of Product (Biosimilars, Cell Therapies, Gene Therapies, Monoclonal Antibodies, Vaccines and Others), Type of Plant (Algae, Barley, Benth, Duckweed, Lettuce, Maize, Moss, Rice, Tomato, Tobacco and Wheat Germ), Type of Expression System (Stable Expression System and Transient Expression System), Type of Target Disease Indication (Cirrhotic Ascites, COVID-19, Cystic Fibrosis, Ebola Virus Infection, Fabry Disease, Gaucher Disease, Liver Cirrhosis, Influenza, and  Peanut Allergy), Type of Therapeutic Area (Genetic Disorders, Infectious Disorders, Liver Disorders, Respiratory Disorders and Others), Drug (Elelyso, PALFORZIA, OsrHSA,  PRX-102, Unnamed_1, Unnamed_2, PRX-110 and ZMapp), and  Region (North America, Europe, Asia, Middle East and North Africa, Latin America and Rest of the World): Industry Trends and Global Forecasts, 2022-2035” market report features an extensive study of the current market landscape, market size, market forecast and future opportunities for the companies involved in plant based protein expression market during the forecast period. The market research report features an in-depth analysis, highlighting the capabilities of various stakeholders engaged in plant based protein expression market.

Amongst other elements, the market research report includes:

• A detailed overview of the current market landscape of plant-based expression system providers, including information on some relevant parameters such as the type of plant (algae, barley, benth, duckweed, lettuce, maize, moss, rice, tomato, tobacco, and wheat germ), type of product (antibodies (unspecified), biosimilars, cell therapies, gene therapies, monoclonal antibodies, proteins (unspecified), vaccines and others), and type of expression system (transient and stable). Additionally, it highlights information on plant-based expression system providers, including details related to their respective year of establishment, company size (in terms of employee count), location of headquarters and number of proprietary technologies.
• A detailed overview of the current market landscape of plant-based biologics, including information on their status of development (marketed, clinical and preclinical), target disease indication (cirrhotic ascites, COVID-19, cystic fibrosis, Ebola virus infection, Fabry disease, Gaucher Disease, liver cirrhosis, influenza, and  peanut allergy), therapeutic area (genetic disorders, infectious disorders, liver disorders, respiratory disorders, and others) and type of product (antibodies (unspecified), biosimilars, cell therapies, monoclonal antibodies, proteins (unspecified), vaccines and others). Additionally, it highlights the developers of these novel therapeutics, including details on their year of establishment, company size (in terms of employee count), location of headquarters and number of proprietary drug candidates.
• Elaborate profiles of key players engaged in providing plant-based expression system technologies to drug developers. Each profile features a brief overview of the company, details related to its technology portfolio, recent developments, and an informed future outlook.
• An analysis of the recent partnerships and collaborations that have been inked between various stakeholders in plant based protein expression market, during the period between 2017 and 2021, covering R&D agreements, licensing agreements, commercialization agreements, product development agreements, product development and manufacturing agreement, acquisitions and others. 
• An insightful company competitiveness analysis, including a 2*2 matrix comparing the key players engaged in offering plant-based expression systems, based on several relevant parameters (such as company experience, portfolio strength, partnership activity and company size). It also includes a benchmarking analysis of systems providers based on their portfolio strength and partnership activity.
• An insightful publication analysis, which includes analysis of more than 1,000 peer-reviewed scientific articles related to plant-based biologics, published between 2000-2021, highlighting the research focus within this niche industry segment. Additionally, it features key trends observed across the aforementioned publications, including analysis based on several relevant parameters, such as year of publication, type of article, journal title, primary funding body, publisher, primary author, journal impact factor and key timelines. Further, it includes a multivariate publication attractiveness analysis based on various parameters, such as type of article, grant support, journal impact factor and timeline of publications.

One of the key objectives of this market report is to provide a detailed market forecast analysis in order to estimate the existing market size and future opportunity associated with the plant based protein expression market during the forecast period. Based on multiple parameters, such as target patient population, likely adoption rates, expected pricing and R&D expenditure, we have provided informed estimates on the financial evolution of the market for the forecast period 2022-2035. The market report also provides details on the likely distribution of the current and forecasted opportunity across [A] type of product (biosimilars, cell therapies, gene therapies, monoclonal antibodies, vaccines and others [B] type of plant (algae, barley, benth, duckweed, lettuce, maize, moss, rice, tomato, tobacco and wheat germ), [C] type of expression system (stable expression system and transient expression system) [D] target disease indication (cirrhotic ascites, COVID-19, cystic fibrosis, Ebola virus infection, Fabry disease, Gaucher disease, liver cirrhosis, influenza, and  peanut allergy) [E] therapeutic area (genetic disorders, infectious disorders, liver disorders, respiratory disorders and others) [F] drug (Elelyso, OsrHSA, PALFORZIA, PRX-110, PRX-102, Unnamed_1, Unnamed_2 and ZMapp) and [G] region (North America, Europe, Asia, Middle East and North Africa, Latin America and Rest of the World). In order to account for future uncertainties and to add robustness to our forecast model, we have provided three market forecast scenarios, portraying the conservative, base and optimistic scenarios, representing different tracks of the industry’s growth.

All actual figures have been sourced and analyzed from publicly available information forums. Financial figures mentioned in this market research report are in USD, unless otherwise specified

Frequently Asked Questions

Question 1: What are plant based biologics?

Answer: Plant based biologics are novel therapeutic products developed from genetically altered plant cell extracts. Plant-based biologics are safer, as they pose negligible risk of introducing human and animal pathogens in the therapy candidates.

Question 2: How big is the plant based protein expression market?

Answer: The plant based protein expression market size is estimated to be worth $1.3 billion in 2022.

Question 3: What is the projected market growth of the plant based protein expression market?

Answer: The plant based protein expression market is expected to grow at compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.9% during the forecast period 2022 - 2035.

Question 4: Who are the leading companies in the plant based protein expression market?

Answer: Examples of key companies engaged in plant based protein expression market (which have also been profiled in this market report; the complete list of companies is available in the full report) include Medicago, Leaf Expression Systems, Eleva, iBIO, PlantForm, G+Flas Life Sciences, Kentucky Bioprocessing and Angany.

Question 5: How many unique technologies are presently offered by companies engaged in the plant based protein expression market?

Answer: Over 40 unique technologies are presently offered by companies engaged in the plant based protein expression market.

Question 6: How many plant based biologics are currently under clinical stages of development?

Answer: Presently, close to 50 candidates are under clinical stages of development

Question 7: Which region is the hub for companies engaged in the plant based protein expression market?

Answer: North America emerged as the hub for companies engaged in the plant based protein expression market, with 45% of the players established in the region.