Bioconjugation Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Offering (Products {Instruments [Chromatography Systems, and Others] and Consumables [Reagents & Kits, Labels, and Others]} and Services {Custom Synthesis & Conjugation Services, and Others}), By Technique (Chemical Conjugation, Enzyme-Mediated Conjugation, and Others), By Conjugate Type (Antibody–Drug Conjugates (ADCs), Protein-Drug Conjugates, and Others) By Application (Therapeutics, Diagnostics, and Others), By End User (Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology Companies, CROs & CDMOs, and Others), and Regional Forecast, 2025-2032

The global bioconjugation market size was valued at USD 4.36 billion in 2024. The market is projected to grow from USD 4.78 billion in 2025 to USD 9.32 billion by 2032, exhibiting a CAGR of 10.01% during the forecast period. North america dominated the bioconjugation market with a market share of 51.83% in 2024.

Bioconjugation is the process of chemically linking two distinct molecules together, often via a covalent bond, to create a novel complex with combined properties. Prominent factors such as rising demand for targeted therapeutics, increasing influx of investment for research & development, and technological advancements fueled the adoption of these technologies in various applications. Additionally, growing partnerships between biopharmaceutical companies and contract service providers is also fueling the market growth.

Furthermore, the market encompasses several major players with Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Agilent Technologies Inc., Lonza, and others. Strong geographic presence coupled with availability of wide range of products/services by these companies have supported their dominance in the global market.

MARKET DYNAMICS

MARKET DRIVERS

Increasing Focus on Development of Antibody–Drug Conjugates (ADCs) to Propel Market Growth

The increasing focus on the development of Antibody–Drug Conjugates (ADCs) is a prominent factor driving the market growth. ADCs represent one of the most advanced applications of bioconjugation, combining the target specificity of monoclonal antibodies with the potency of cytotoxic drugs. This surge in antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) development is driven by their success in treating various cancers and the continuous innovation in their components. Additionally, recent advances in site specific conjugation have improved efficacy and reduced toxicity, leading to a substantial increase in approved ADCs and a vast pipeline of candidates in clinical trials.

• For instance, according to the data published by Hunan Huateng Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. in April 2025, till date a total of 19 ADC drugs have been approved across the globe.

MARKET RESTRAINTS

Regulatory & Safety Concerns to Restrict Market Expansion

A prominent factor restraining the growth of the market is the stringent regulatory and safety requirements surrounding novel conjugated products. The regulatory pathways for novel conjugates are stringent and lengthy, given the potential for off-target toxicity. This results in lengthy approval timelines and higher trial costs compared to conventional drugs. Additionally, safety concerns such as premature drug release or off-target binding can cause severe toxicities, leading to trial delays or terminations. Thus, failures in late-stage trials due to safety or efficacy issues can significantly delay market growth.

• For example, in July 2023, ADC Therapeutics SA discontinued the phase II LOTIS-9 Clinical Trial of Rituximab and ZYNLONTA (loncastuximab tesirine-lpyl) in unfit or frail previously untreated DLBCL patients.

MARKET OPPORTUNITIES

Rising Demand for Companion Diagnostics & Imaging Agents to Create Lucrative Growth Opportunities

One of the most promising growth opportunities in the market is the rising demand for companion diagnostics and imaging agents. Bioconjugation plays a key role in precision diagnostics and molecular imaging. It allows the attachment of molecular probes, radioactive isotopes, or fluorescent dyes to antibodies and peptides, enabling highly specific disease detection and patient stratification. Thus, expansion into non-therapeutic applications offers new opportunities, especially in early cancer detection.

• For instance, trastuzumab-based imaging agents have been developed to identify HER2-positive tumors.

BIOCONJUGATION MARKET TRENDS

Rising Outsourcing to CROs and CMOs is a One of the Significant Market Trends

In recent years, pharmaceutical & biotechnology companies are increasingly outsourcing complex conjugation/characterization tasks to CROs/CDMOs and specialized service providers. This is identified as one of the significant market trends. Outsourcing allows these companies to access state-of-the-art facilities, advanced conjugation technologies, and regulatory-compliant manufacturing capacity without making heavy capital investments. This approach also helps accelerate timelines by leveraging the experience of specialized partners in managing complex production workflows. Owing to this, biopharmaceutical companies are partnering with CROs/CMOs for bioconjugation processes.

• For instance, in October 2024, Lonza expanded its collaboration with major biopharmaceutical company as a commercial-scale manufacture of ADCs.

MARKET CHALLENGES

High Cost and Technical Complexity to Hamper Market Growth

One of the major challenging factors for the bioconjugation market growth is the high development cost associated with bioconjugated therapeutics, particularly antibody–drug conjugates (ADCs). The development process includes highly complex R&D followed by multiple phases of expensive clinical trials. The processes such as conjugation, purification, stability testing, and scaling up conjugated molecules require sophisticated equipment, expertise, and control, which results in rising overall cost.

• For instance, according to a study published in National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), in June 2023, the development of ADCs is extremely costly with final cost of ADC therapy is around USD 100–500 thousand per annum.

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Segmentation Analysis

By Offering

High Demand for Products Contributed to Growth of the Products Segment

On the basis of the offering, the market is classified into products and services.

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The products segment accounted for the leading bioconjugation market share in 2024. Among products, consumables segment held the significant market share. The segment's growth has mostly been driven by the rising demand for products from pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and research institutions as well as by the growing use of these products in diagnostics. The growing use of conjugates in drug development, cancer research, and pharmacogenomics, as well as the rising incidence of chronic diseases like cancer that require targeted therapies. Furthermore, the growth of the segment is also fueled by major players launching new products. All these factors contribute to the segment’s expansion.

• For instance, in January 2025, Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. introduced TrailBlazer StarBright Dye Label and TrailBlazer Tag Kits for antibody conjugation.

By Technique

Various Applications Fuels the Segment Dominance of Chemical Conjugation

In terms of technique, the market is divided into chemical conjugation, enzyme-mediated conjugation, click chemistry, photoreactive crosslinking, and others.

In 2024, the global market was dominated by chemical conjugation segment. Wide adoption of this technique, expanding usage across various applications, and cost-effectiveness & compatibility with large-scale manufacturing are some of the factors propelling the segmental growth. Additionally, increasing adoption of this technique in commercially approved products also supplements the market growth.

• For instance, Kadcyla (ado-trastuzumab emtansine) is created using chemical conjugation (thiol–maleimide chemistry). This drug is approved for HER2-positive breast cancer.

The enzyme-mediated conjugation segment is expected to grow at a CAGR of 11.71% over the study period. 

By Conjugate Type

Increasing Adoption of ADCs Contributed to the Highest Share of ADCs

On the basis of conjugate type, the market is classified into antibody–drug conjugates (ADCs), protein-drug conjugates, peptide-drug conjugates, and others.

The antibody–drug conjugates (ADCs) segment held the dominating share of the market in 2024. This dominance is contributed to rising demand for targeted cancer therapies, strong pipeline development, and increasing number of approved products in the market. Moreover, presence of well-established biopharmaceutical companies in the development of these products also supplements the segment growth.

• For instance, according to a study published in BMC Journal in March 2024, there are more than 100 ADC drugs at different stages of clinical trials and this number is anticipated to increase rapidly in the near future.

The peptide-drug conjugates segment is expected to grow at a CAGR of 10.28% over the study period. 

By Application

Increasing Focus on Drug Research Fuels Growth of Therapeutic Applications Segment

In terms of application, the market is categorized into therapeutics, diagnostics, and research & development.

The therapeutics segment captured/ the largest market share in 2024. In 2025, the segment is anticipated to dominate with 66.0% share. High demand for targeted drug delivery, large and expanding pipeline of bioconjugated drugs, increasing regulatory approvals, and strong investment focus have primarily driven the segment growth. Additionally, large biopharmaceutical companies are also actively involved in the development of innovative therapies using this method.

• For instance, in January 2025, the U.S. FDA approved AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo’s Enhertu (trastuzumab deruxtecan) to treat HER2-positive breast cancer. It is an antibody drug conjugate product.

The diagnostics segment is expected to witness 8.76% growth over the forecast period.  

By End User

Focus on Innovative Therapeutic Development by Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology Companies Boosted Segment Growth

Based on end-user, the market is segmented into pharmaceutical & biotechnology companies, CROs & CDMOs, academic & research institutes, and others.

In 2024, in terms of end-user, pharmaceutical & biotechnology companies held the dominating share of the global market. Factors contributing to this dominance include strong focus on targeted therapy development, increasing number of commercialized products, and active involvement in strategic initiatives. Furthermore, the segment is set to hold 56.7% share in 2025.

• For instance, in March 2024, AstraZeneca signed an agreement for the acquisition of Fusion Pharmaceuticals Inc. to expand its presence in the development of next-generation radioconjugates (RCs).

In addition, CROs & CDMOs segment is projected to grow at a CAGR of 12.68% during the forecast period.

Bioconjugation Market Regional Outlook

By geography, the market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa.

North America

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The North America dominated the global market in 2023 with a revenue generation of USD 2.02 billion and also took the leading share in 2024 with USD 2.26 billion. Key factors fostering the dominance of the region include high influx of investment for biopharmaceutical R&D, regulatory support, high disease burden, and advanced manufacturing infrastructure. In 2025, U.S. market is estimated to reach USD 2.29 billion.  The country has a robust network of CMOs and CROs such as Catalent Inc., Lonza’s U.S. facilities, and others which are actively involved in strategic collaborations, in turn supporting the country’s market growth.

• For instance, in November 2022, Catalent Inc., and Exelixis, Inc. signed an agreement three Antibody-Drug Conjugate Programs.

Europe and Asia Pacific

On the other hand, markets in the Europe and Asia Pacific regions are projected to grow at a notable rate in the near future. During the forecast period, European region is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 9.82%, which is the second largest region amongst all the regions and is anticipated to touch the valuation of USD 1.23 billion in 2025. Key factors responsible for this include increasing focus on biopharmaceutical research and manufacturing, along with rising focus on precision medicine development by key companies. Backed by these factors, countries including U.K. anticipates to reach the value of USD 0.28 billion, Germany to record USD 0.25 billion, and France to record USD 0.20 billion in 2025. After Europe, the market in Asia Pacific is valued to reach USD 0.76 billion in 2025 and secure the position of third-largest region in the market. In the region, India and China both are estimated to reach USD 0.14 billion and USD 0.14 billion each in 2025.

Latin America and Middle East & Africa

Furthermore, Latin America and Middle East & Africa regions are anticipated to witness a relatively a slower growth over the forecast years. Latin America market in 2025 is set to record USD 0.419 billion as its valuation. Increasing biopharmaceutical R&D is anticipated to drive the adoption of these products and bioconjugation services in these regions in the near future. In Middle East & Africa, GCC countries are set to attain the value of USD 0.06 billion in 2025.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Key Industry Players

Availability of Diverse Bioconjugation Technologies and Robust Clinical Pipelines and Capabilities Supported the Dominating Positions of Leading Companies

The global bioconjugation market is semi-consolidated, with the presence of several large pharmaceutical and biotechnology players alongside specialized reagent and technology providers. Companies such as Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Merck KGaA, Danaher, and Lonza are among the leading players in the market. Their dominance is attributed to road product pipelines and strong global presence across therapeutic and diagnostic applications.

The other prominent players include Catalent, Inc., Sartorius AG, Seagen Inc., and Creative Bioconjugates among others. These companies are focusing on innovative linker technologies, conjugation services, and customized solutions to support biopharmaceutical R&D and manufacturing.

• For instance, in May 2023, Seagen and Pfizer expanded their collaboration to co-develop next-generation ADCs, enhancing their clinical pipeline.

LIST OF KEY BIOCONJUGATION COMPANIES PROFILED

• Agilent Technologies Inc. (U.S.)
• Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (U.S.)
• Bio Rad Laboratories Inc. (U.S.)
• Merck KGaA (Germany)
• Lonza (Switzerland)
• Catalent, Inc. (U.S.)
• BD (U.S.)
• Sartorius AG (Germany)
• Danaher (U.S.)
• Vector Laboratories, Inc. (U.S.)

KEY INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENTS

• July 2025: Biosynth expanded its GMP bioconjugates production capabilities with new commercial bioconjugation suite at Berlin site.
• June 2025: Veranova expanded U.S. Bioconjugate CDMO Services with an investment of more than USD 50 million.
• May 2025: Shilpa Biologicals opened a dedicated bioconjugation suite at its Dharwad site in India.
• November 2024: Lonza announced the investment for additional bioconjugation capabilities in Visp, Switzerland. This was aimed to address growing market demands.
• April 2024: Abzena expanded its bioconjugation and ADC capabilities with significant investment.

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