Global CRISPR Gene Editing Market Research Report: Forecast (2022-27)

Market Definition

CRISPR (Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) technology is a powerful & precise nucleic acid-targeting editing tool for the genome. It enables scientists & researchers to easily alter the DNA sequences & modify gene function. The CRISPR Gene Editing technology has the potential to correct genetic defects and treat & prevent chronic ailments. The technology has proven to be an efficient way to alter genomes compared to previous editing techniques such as Zinc Finger Nucleases (ZFNs) and Transcription Activator-like Effector Nucleases (TALENs).

Moreover, the rising prevalence of genetic disorders & growing research & development in biotechnology companies to yield better genomic results are the major factors contributing to the growth of the Global CRISPR Gene Editing Market, 2027.

Market Insights

The Global CRISPR Gene Editing Market is projected to grow at a CAGR of around 18.24% during the forecast period, 2022-27. The market is expected to witness significant growth, owing to the increase in demand for genome editing technologies for treating genetic & chronic disorders in humans. Other factors driving the growth are the rising population resulting in growing food requirements & non-gene editing applications, including diagnostics & antiviral, among others.

Moreover, the continuous investments & research conducted by pharmaceutical companies, education institutions, and governments across the biotechnology & biopharmaceutical industries are the major factors augmenting the growth of the Global CRISPR Gene Editing market. For instance:

• In 2021, Vertex Pharmaceuticals & CRISPR Therapeutics amended their collaboration agreement for developing, manufacturing, and commercializing CTX001, an investigational CRISPR/Cas-9 therapy for sickle cell disease (SCD) & beta-thalassemia.

Furthermore, over the past few years, CRISPR technology has observed tremendous advancements & enabled researchers to manipulate human, plant, and animal genomes in unprecedented ways. With the new emanating CRISPR-Cas systems, including spCas9-NG, base editing, xCas9, Cpf1, Cas13, and Cas14, scientists predict that this technology has the potential to revolutionize different industries such as agriculture, biomedicine, and bioenergy.

Additionally, scientists believe that there is still a lot to uncover about CRISPR technology in the future. CRISPR could be beneficial in several areas, including correcting genetic disorders that cause diseases like Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), a heart condition that affects approximately 1 in 500 people worldwide, as per a study published in PLOS One. In 2017, researchers from Oregon Health and Science University showed impressive results from an experiment that employed CRISPR to delete one of the defective genes in numerous viable human embryos, exhibiting the possibility of using CRISPR technology to eradicate this heritable disease. In the future, CRISPR can eliminate the microbes that cause disease.

Besides, the substantial investments by biopharmaceuticals & biotechnology companies made in the fields of gene therapy, genome engineering, drug discovery, molecular research, and clinical research are promoting the development of industry-specific CRISPR gene-editing technology. For instance:

• In 2021, Mammoth Biosciences raised USD195 million with more than USD1 billion. With the help of these funds, the company would broaden its toolkit of next-generation CRISPR systems through in vivo gene-editing therapeutics & disease detection.
• Similarly, in 2018, Arbor Biotechnologies raised USD15.6 million in series A funding with a new CRISPR-associated enzyme, Cas13d.

Key Trend in the Market

• Rising Adoption of CRISPR-edited Agriculture

CRISPR gene technology has become the most utilized & versatile technology in functional genomics & crop breeding. Genome editing has the ability to create inheritable & predictable mutations in specific genomic sites to produce the desired results in crop production & cultivation.

Hence, this has gradually boosted the requirement for CRISPR gene technology for oil crops, food crops, feed crops, fiber crops, and ornamental crops to enhance the crop quality & market value of agricultural products. Further, various countries are adopting CRISPR gene editing technologies to modify crop production with different required characteristics. For instance:

• In 2022, China approved the gene-edited crops, which have revolutionized the researchers to develop a wide array of wheat varieties resistant to fungal diseases & various others.

Therefore, the CRISPR gene-edited technologies opened up several new horizons for researchers to develop multiple crop varieties that have increased yields, resilience against climate change, and a better response to fertilizers.

Impact of COVID-19 on the Global CRISPR Gene Editing Market

The COVID-19 pandemic prompted pharmaceutical & biotechnology companies to invest in the research & development of vaccine production. Thus, the rising demand for vaccines & potential antiviral candidates has brought CRISPR gene-editing technologies to the forefront.

Moreover, as compared to the conventional diagnostics & treatment methods, genome editing tools such as CRISPR-Cas 12/13-based SHERLOCK, CARVER, ribozymes, RNAi silencing, and aptamer therapies played a vital role during the research process in the COVID-19 outbreak. These advanced tools & treatment methods have proven to be shorter & easier diagnosis procedures for targeted virus detection & killing.

Market Segmentation

By Product Type:

• CRISPR Products
• CRISPR Services

Here, the CRISPR Products type dominates the Global CRISPR Gene Editing market and is anticipated to remain dominant during the forecast period, owing to the presence of CRISPR pooled libraries that consist of thousands of plasmids based on library type, species, and library size.

In addition, kits & enzymes play a pivotal role in the CRISPR Gene Editing market on account of performing in vitro cloning of large genes of DNA fragments without the limitations imposed by common restriction enzymes or PCR fidelity.

Furthermore, the rising adoption of Cas9 for specific genome disruption & replacement in a flexible & simple system by biopharmaceutical companies & clinical development in research institutes is further driving the growth of the product segment in the CRISPR Gene Editing market.

By Application:

• Agriculture
• Industrial
• Biomedical
• Others

Of them all, the biomedical segment held a considerable share in the CRISPR Gene Editing market on account of tremendous development in cell & gene therapy, drug discovery, and diagnostic domains across the globe. The discovery & development of CRISPR technology for gene therapy is expanding rapidly to combat hereditary disorders & other chronic ailments such as cancer & immune treatments. For instance:

• The first in vivo CRISPR gene therapy trials began in 2019 for treating a patient with Leber’s congenital amaurosis (LCA) by correcting its mutation in the CEP290 gene.

Moreover, the discovery of new Cas Nucleases such as Cas7-11 has significantly boosted the gene therapy segment, making it possible to develop CRISPR therapies for a wide range of life-threatening ailments.

By End-User:

• Academic Institutions & Research Centers
• Biotechnology Companies
• Contract Research Organizations (CRO)
• Pharmaceutical & Biopharmaceutical Companies

Among all, Pharmaceutical & Biopharmaceutical companies dominate this segment, followed by biotechnology businesses. The companies are incorporating numerous CRISPR gene editing products & services for the treatment & screening of genetic disorders.

Further, the consistent outcomes, precise control, scalable automation, and an integrated supply chain of CRISPR libraries, design tool, kits, enzymes, and antibodies are developed by biotech companies for various stages of clinical development followed by clinical trials.

Moreover, the biopharmaceutical companies are significantly ensuring the growth of the CRISPR Gene Editing market by researching the gene-editing technology across different verticals & out-licensing the CRISPR platform. Additionally, biomedical & mammalian cell line research is constantly thriving at research centers, driving their use of CRISPR gene editing tools & platforms as a fundamental component of their research.

Regional Landscape

Geographically, the Global CRISPR Gene Editing Market expands across:

• North America
• South America
• Europe
• The Middle East & Africa
• Asia-Pacific

Of all the regions, North America is home to many legacies & emerging companies in the field of CRISPR gene editing that are currently investigating drug candidates in clinical research. Some of the leading contributors to the North America CRISPR Gene Editing market are Abcam Plc., Applied StemCell Inc., Agilent Technologies Inc., Cellecta Inc., CRISPR Therapeutics AG, etc.

Moreover, the research & development activities growing awareness of gene therapy & substantial government funding to boost the clinical research processes for various rare diseases are the preliminary factors that have positively impacted the sales of CRISPR gene editing in the region. The National Human Genome Research Institute and the National Institute of Health are the medical research agencies responsible for medical & genome research in the USA.

• In 2021, the National Institute of Health, funded approximately USD1.6 billion to the Arizona State University and Bayer College of Medicine for evaluating advancements in human genome editing. 

Recent Developments by Leading Companies

• In 2021, Merck KgaA licensed its patented CRISPR-Cas9 technology to Cellecta for the development of next-generation treatments, which enables the researchers to advance treatments for inherited blood disorders, ophthalmologic, and oncological disorders, among others.
• In 2019, Thermo Fisher Scientific acquired Brammer Bio to increase its presence across the global market with the addition of Brammer Bio for the manufacturing of vectors for cell & gene therapies.

Market Dynamics:

Key Driver: Prevalence of Genetic Disorders & Use of Genome Editing to Boost the Market Growth

The prevalence of genetic disorders has been increasing over the years across the globe. Some of the most prevalent are thalassemia, down syndrome, cystic fibrosis, and sickle cell anemia. For every 10,000 live births globally, 4.4 cases of thalassemia are reported. According to the Thalassemia International Federation, about 7% of the population experience hemoglobin-associated conditions, around 70% have sickle cell anemia, and the remaining develop thalassemia or other blood disorders.

Further, in recent years, CRISPR gene editing demand has been driven by significant breakthrough scientific research across various dimensions to treat hereditary disorders. As per the research publication of the New England Journal of Medicine, 2020, CRISPR gene therapies depicted positive results for treating sickle cell anemia & beta-thalassemia. In addition, ongoing clinical trials for the gene correction in homo sapiens to treat genetic disorders further augmented the growth of the CRISPR Gene Editing market globally. For instance: 

• Gene Correction in Autologous CD34+ Hematopoietic Stem Cells (HbS to HbA) to Treat Severe Sickle Cell Disease (CEDAR) clinical trial was posted in the USA, as of 2021, which is considered a first-in-human, single-arm study. The study is currently in Phase1/11 & is expected to be completed in 2026.

Possible Restraint: Ethical Concerns & Implications with Respect to Human Genome Editing to Hinder the Market

Potential applications of CRISPR gene editing elicit ethical concerns & repercussions of gene editing, raising skepticism about whether CRISPR gene editing should be opened to the public for cosmetic purposes or only be limited for medical reasons. At present, CRISPR-modified animals & insects are regulated under a coordinated framework formed in 1986 for the Regulation of Biotechnology by the USFDA, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Another negative aspect is CRISPR could be used for bioterrorism. In 2014, a science article pointed out the ecological impact of using gene drives. As a result of crossbreeding, gene-modified traits could be extended beyond the target population to other organisms. Therefore, the impact on gene diversity of the target population is another major concern.

Opportunity: High Market Growth Prospects in Emerging Countries to Create Opportunity

Emerging markets are expected to offer significant opportunities for the growth of the genome editing market on account of growing research & development funding for various research organizations. For instance, the biotechnology companies in Brazil are majorly focusing on the development of small molecules & biologics, cell therapies, tissue engineering, regenerative medicines, and genetic & molecular testing.

Subsequently, leading players in the genome editing market are strategically focusing on partnerships & collaborations to strengthen their manufacturing facilities as well as distribution network in the country.

Key Questions Answered in the Market Research Report:

1. What are the overall statistics or estimates (Overview, Size- By Value, Forecast Numbers, Segmentation, Shares) of the Global CRISPR Gene Editing Market?
2. What are the region-wise industry size, growth drivers, and challenges?
3. What are the key innovations, opportunities, current & future trends, and regulations in the Global CRISPR Gene Editing Market?
4. Who are the key competitors, their key strengths & weaknesses, and how do they perform in the Global CRISPR Gene Editing Market based on the competitive landscape?
5. What are the key results derived from surveys conducted during the Global CRISPR Gene Editing Market study?