To operate successfully within the exosome marketplace, it is vital to assess novel opportunities for product development. Currently, there are five market segments that compose the market for stem cell exosomes. These market segments include: Exosome therapeutics, diagnostic tools, research tools, cosmeceuticals, and manufacturing technologies.
Currently, research tools utilizing stem cell exosomes represent the most developed market segment, with these products being sold to researchers in laboratories worldwide. One leader in this area is Lonza, which acquired HansaBioMed Life Sciences in May 2017 while simultaneously investing in Exosomics. HansaBioMed Life Scinces is an Estonia-based supplier of technology and services for exosome research, while Exosomics is an Italian firm developing next-generation sequencing-based cancer tests.[1]
Another leading company offering exosome-specific research tools is System Biosciences (SBI). SBI offers a range of products called “The ExoQuick Family.”[2] Additionally, Qiagen has a full product line of exosome research products, as does Thermo Fisher. At this time, nearly a dozen companies market research products involving stem cell exosomes on Google Adwords.
On the therapeutic front, various research groups are exploring ex vivo manipulation and subsequent reintroduction of exosome-based therapeutics. Despite substantial validation of this approach in preclinical settings, no exosome-based therapeutics have yet been approved for commercialization in by any regulatory agency worldwide.
Additionally, there is also a prolific body of research exploring how exosomes can be leveraged as biomarkers to detect cancer and other emerging disease states without the need for biopsy or invasive procedures. Because exosomes reflect properties of their cell source (the cell from which they were secreted), they can be used as powerful diagnostic tools.
Similarly, a cosmeceutical is a cosmetic product that has or is claimed to have medicinal properties, most commonly, anti-aging properties. ExCoBio, Inc., is the most advanced market leader involved with exosome-based cosmeceuticals, but other smaller players are beginning to appear, particularly within Asia. ExoCoBio is a venture-backed startup that develops exosome-based cosmeceuticals and biopharmaceuticals for skin and tissue regeneration that is headquartered in South Korea.[3]
Equipment and protocols to support exosome-based research are also being developed. For example, Beckman Coulter is actively marketing its instrumentation (via Google Adwords) to support standardized and automated exosome isolation, characterization, and sequencing of exosome-derived RNA.
Interest and investment is also flowing into the manufacture of therapeutic exosomes.
RoosterBio and Exopharm Pty Ltd entered a partnership in August 2017 to develop techniques for the large-scale manufacture of clinical-grade exosomes. As stated in a press release from Exopharm, “RoosterBio and Exopharm will work together to develop and implement a standardized, scalable, commercially-viable biomanufacturing process utilizing Exopharm’s Exomere technology in order to enable rapid clinical translation with a cGMP-compliant Exomeres product into regenerative medicine (RM) applications.”[4]
Additionally, Australian biotech company VivaZome Therapeutics was awarded a grant of $2.18M in December 2017 to support the project: Enabling Exosome Therapy: Developing an Advanced Manufacturing Process. It received the funds under the Australian government’s Advanced Manufacturing Scheme.
It is expected that other companies specializing in large-scale, 3D cell manufacturing technologies will gradually expand into the production of exosome products as well.
Each of these areas represents exciting opportunities for the commercialization of exosomes derived from stem cells, as well as other cell types.
To learn more, view the “Market for Stem Cell Exosomes.”
Footnotes
[1] GenomeWeb. (2017). Lonza’s New Investments in Exosome Technologies Reflect Growing Industry Interest. [online] Available at: https://www.genomeweb.com/molecular-diagnostics/lonzas-new-investments-exosome-technologies-reflect-growing-industry-interest [Accessed 10 Aug. 2017].
[2] Systembio.com. (2017). ExoQuick Exosomes Overview. [online] Available at: https://www.systembio.com/microrna-research/exoquick-exosomes/overview.
[3] ExoCoBio Inc. attracts Series A investment of US$11 million. [online] PRWeb. Available at: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2017/04/prweb14284662.htm [Accessed 11 Aug. 2017].
[4] Exopharm, S. (2017). Stem Cell Exomere Program announced by RoosterBio and Exopharm. [online] PRWeb. Available at: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2017/08/prweb14567717.htm [Accessed 10 Aug. 2017].