Peptides and oligonucleotides: Overview
How weight-loss and gene-silencing drugs turned chains into gold
What this tab covers What the chemical is, how big its market is, what it is used for (with shares, volumes, why it wins and what could replace it), and its chain from raw material to end user. Ends with three things to remember.Peptides are short chains of amino acids; oligonucleotides are short chains of nucleotides. Both are made mostly by building the chain one unit at a time on a solid resin, washing with large volumes of solvent at every step. GLP-1 drugs for diabetes and obesity (semaglutide, tirzepatide) turned peptides into a mass market: GlobalData projected GLP-1 sales of $105 billion by 2029. Tonnages are small, from kilograms to a few tonnes per molecule, but each kilogram can use thousands of kilograms of materials. Bachem, CordenPharma and PolyPeptide lead outsourced supply; Indian firms are entering after semaglutide's 2026 patent expiry in India.
Volume not published; individual GLP-1 APIs need from about one to several tonnes a year (derived: 2.4 mg weekly semaglutide is about 125 mg per patient per year, so 10 million patients need about 1.25 t) Market value peptide synthesis market $90.1 billion (2023) and oligonucleotide synthesis $7.0 billion (2023), BCC Research definitions, which include finished-drug value (indicative) Growth peptide synthesis 11.8% a year and oligonucleotide synthesis 11.0% a year, 2023-2028 (BCC Research); Bachem guides 35-45% sales growth for 2026 BCC Research via DCAT Value Chain Insights (June 2024); GlobalData via DCAT (2024); Bachem FY2025 media release (Mar 2026)Key uses
| Use | Share | Annual volume | Why this commodity | Alternatives |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GLP-1 and incretin drugs (semaglutide, tirzepatide, liraglutide) | n/a | about 1-8 t API a year per molecule (derived, indicative)basis | GLP-1 agonists control blood sugar and cut weight by 15-20%. Ozempic sold $13.8 billion and Mounjaro $5.16 billion in 2023. Five drugs were forecast to hold 83% of the GLP-1 market by 2029. GlobalData via DCAT (2024); dose arithmetic | Small-molecule oral GLP-1 agonists (e.g. orforglipron) bariatric surgery |
| Other peptide drugs (oncology, hormones, anti-infectives) | n/a | kilograms to hundreds of kg per moleculebasis | Peptides bind targets with high specificity. Leuprolide, octreotide and teriparatide are long-established; Bachem's commercial API sales of CHF 343 million in 2025 were driven mainly by patent-protected peptides. Bachem FY2025 | Small molecules antibodies |
| Oligonucleotide therapeutics (siRNA, antisense) | n/a | kilograms to low tonnes as cardiovascular siRNAs scalebasis | Oligos silence or modify genes; long-acting cardiovascular siRNAs such as inclisiran need far larger volumes than rare-disease drugs. qualitative | Antibodies gene therapy |
| Diagnostics, research and mRNA-related nucleotides | n/a | not publishedbasis | PCR primers, probes and research peptides; Bachem's research and specialties line sold CHF 47.7 million in 2025. Bachem FY2025 | none practical |
From raw material to user
- Amino acids and nucleosides Protected (Fmoc) amino acids and phosphoramidites made by fine chemical firms; Divi's has validated several amino acid fragments (BoB Capital, May 2026).
- Chain assembly Solid-phase synthesis adds one unit per cycle; a 50-residue peptide needs 50 coupling and deprotection cycles.
- Cleavage and purification Chain cut from resin with trifluoroacetic acid and purified by preparative HPLC, using large volumes of acetonitrile.
- Lyophilisation Freeze-dried to a powder API.
- Fill-finish Formulated into injectable pens; Novo Holdings bought Catalent for $16.5 billion (closed Dec 2024) largely for this capacity.
Three things to know
- Solid-phase peptide synthesis uses about 13,000 kg of materials per kg of API, against 168-308 kg/kg for typical small molecules (Kekessie et al. 2024, ACS GCI, indicative).
- Bachem's 2025 sales were CHF 695 million and it guides 35-45% growth in 2026 as its Building K comes online (Bachem, Mar 2026).
- Samsung Biologics bid about CHF 1.46 billion for PolyPeptide in July 2026 to enter peptides (GEN, 2026).