LONDON---The field of regenerative medicine (RM) is rapidly expanding as there are currently 53 marketed RM products and 175 RM pipeline agents in development in the eight major markets (United States, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom, Japan, and South Korea), according to data and analytics company GlobalData.

The company’s report, “Regenerative Medicine in Pharma—Thematic Research,” states that gene therapy is the most valuable regenerative medicine segment, but is also expected to be slowed down by high cost which may limit its accessibility. The gene therapy market was valued at $734 million in 2019 in the eight major markets and is forecast to reach $13.3 billion by 2026 with Novartis’ Zolgensma leading the market.

“As indications continue to expand, potential markets will also grow as a greater number of patients benefit from these products. This is expected to increase adoption and further push payers into finding ways to pay for these treatments,” said Alessio Brunello, a managing pharma analyst at GlobalData. “The COVID-19 pandemic could be an opportunity for the companies pursuing the development of gene therapies, as few products are in development to fight the viral illness. However, challenges are still present for gene therapies, as these type of therapies need to produce enough evidence of proven safety and also a better efficacy comparing with already marketed products, such as antiviral drugs.”

The cell therapy field is also expanding, but lack of data and manufacturing are barriers for this sector. The cell therapy market was valued at $121 million in 2019 in the eight major markets and is forecast to reach $3.1 billion by 2026.