Gel Permeation Chromatography MarketSize and Trends

Global gel permeation chromatography market is estimated to be valued at US$ 1,304.4 million in 2022 and is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 7.2% during the forecast period (2022-2030).

Figure 1. Global Gel Permeation Chromatography (GPC) Market Share (%), by Region, 2022

Figure 2.Global Gel Permeation Chromatography (GPC) Market Share (%), by Product type, 2022

Global Gel Permeation Chromatography (GPC) Market– Impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic

Since the COVID-19 virus outbreak in December 2019, the disease has spread to over 100 countries across the globe and the World Health Organization had declared it a public health emergency on January 30, 2020.

COVID-19 has affected the economy in three main ways: by directly affecting production and demand of drugs, by creating disruptions in distribution channels. Due to nationwide lockdowns, several countries, such as China, India, Saudi Arabia, U.A.E., Egypt, and others, are facing problems with regards to the transportation of drugs from one place to another.

However, the COVID-19 pandemic had a positive impact on the global gel permeation chromatography market. The gel permeation chromatography technique was used to identify, quantify and detect polymers used in coating fabric. For instance, on February 11, 2022, the scientists at University of British Columbia, had created eco-friendly, non-toxic coating of polymer for hospital fabrics which reduced the infectivity of the virus that results in COVID-19 by approximately 90%.

Rise in research and development activities by pharmaceutical and biotech companies in chronic disease is expected to propel growth of the gel permeation chromatography market

Increasing focus on research and development activities by pharmaceutical and biotech companies across the globe, targeting chronic diseases such as cancer to bring novel therapies for their treatment, is expected to aid in growth of market. These are protein (Natural Polymer) based therapies such as CAR-T cell therapy, antibody-drug conjugates, and immune check point inhibitors. According to a report in 2017 by International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations, research based pharmaceutical and biotech companies annually invest around US$ 149 billion on research and development around world. Over 7,000 molecules for drug development are under investigation, out of which around 2,000 candidates are for cancer. Therefore, separation and characterization of new chemical entities, which are polymer-based is possible efficiently with gel permeation chromatography and this is expected to aid in growth of market within year. Moreover, most of these drugs under investigation are in preclinical study, which consists of studying structure and components of new chemical entities, which demands gel permeation chromatography system.

Regulatory approvals for use of novel excipients (Polymers) in drug development is expected to drive growth of the gel permeation chromatography market over the forecast period.

Pharmaceutical and biotech companies widely use polymers as excipient (Binder, Diluent, coating agents, suspending agent, viscosity agent, and Disintegrant) to produce a variety of dosage forms for the medicines. There is increasing use of natural polymers instead of synthetic ones due to their inertness, low cost, and higher acceptability of consumers towards natural polymers. Recently launched natural polymers from different manufacturers are Solutol HS 15, Soluplus, Kollicoat Smartseal 30 D, Polyplasdone Ultra, and Prosolv ODT. However, before using polymers in formulation, end users (pharmaceutical and biotech companies) have to be confident about quality of polymers used as excipients. U.S. Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) demands Quality by Design in manufacturing the formulations (non-adherence otherwise leads to product recalls). Therefore companies have to characterize these polymers for quality parameters. This needs efficient GPC systems. Moreover, companies have to adhere to International Council for Harmonisation (ICH) guideline (M4Q), which requires novel excipients to characterize their functionality and physicochemistry. For instance, in October 2019, National Center for Biotechnology Information claimed that ethylcellulose is a pharmaceutical excipient with multidirectional application in drug dosage forms development using gel permeation chromatography system as analytical technique.