Natural Killer Cell Therapeutics Market Size, Share and Trends Analysis, By Therapy Type (Allogeneic NK Cell Therapy, Autologous NK Cell Therapy, and CAR-NK Cell Therapy), By Source, By Approaches (Bispecific Antibodies and Antibody-Dependent Cell-Mediated Cytotoxicity (ADCC)), By Indication (Cancer, Infectious Diseases, Autoimmune and Inflammatory Disorders, and Others), By End-Use, and By Region, Forecast 2025-2032

Natural Killer Cell Therapeutics Market Overview and Key Insights:

The natural killer cell therapeutics market size reached USD 658.7 million in 2024 and is expected to register a revenue CAGR of 42.7% during the forecast period. Natural killer cell therapy is a sort of cellular immunotherapy, like CAR T-cell therapy. Natural killer cells (NK) are a promising alternative platform for cellular immunotherapy and an important type of innate immune regulatory cell. NK cells can rapidly kill many nearby cancer cells due to their non-MHC-restrictive effects.

Market Drivers:

Rising incidence of chronic diseases is a key driver of revenue growth in the natural killer cell therapeutics market. According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about one-third of children in the United States are infected with Cytomegalovirus (CMV) by the age of five, and more than half of adults are infected by the age of forty. Congenital CMV infection affects around one out of every 200 infants. Approximately one in every five kids with congenital CMV infection will have birth abnormalities or other long-term health issues.

CMVs succeed as pathogens due to their ability to evade the immune system through various mechanisms, including the downregulation of immunoreceptor ligands and the production of decoy molecules. These strategies target all branches of the immune response, including natural killer (NK) cells, which are crucial for the early defense against virus-infected and cancerous cells.

Advancements in cell engineering technologies is another key driver driving the market revenue growth. With advances in immunotherapy research, NK cells have piqued the curiosity of researchers and medical professionals as viable alternatives to CD8+ T cells in anticancer therapies. Genetic modification, such as incorporating CARs, overexpressing immune-activating genes, and employing the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein 9 (Cas9) system to knock out immunologically defective genes, have emerged as potential options. These genetic engineering techniques may provide answers to improve NK cell efficacy and persistence in the tumor microenvironment (TME).

On February 2023, Replay, a genome writing firm that reprogrammes biology by writing and distributing large amounts of DNA, and the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center announced the formation of Syena, a new oncology-focused product company that pioneers T-cell receptor (TCR) natural killer (NK) cell therapeutics. Building on MD Anderson and Replay’s intellectual property and technology, Syena has the potential to build the next generation of cell therapy by combining the safety, potency, and scalability of NK cells with TCRs’ capacity to target intracellular tumor antigens.

Market Opportunity:

Emergence of CAR-NK and iPSC-derived therapies acts as opportunities for natural killer cell therapeutics market. Adoptive cell therapies (ACT) based on chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-modified immune cells have made great progress with six CAR-T cell products approved by the U.S. FDA for hematological malignancies. Compared with CAR-T cells, CAR-NK cells have attracted increasing attention owing to their multiple killing mechanisms, higher safety profile, and broad sources. Induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived NK (iPSC-NK) cells exhibit a mature phenotype and strong cytolytic activity, and researchers can generate a uniform population of CAR-NK cells from them, expandable to clinical scale. Therefore, clinicians could use iPSC-derived CAR-NK (CAR-iNK) cells as a standardized, “off-the-shelf” product for cancer immunotherapy.

On February 2025, ImmunityBio, Inc., a leading immunotherapy company, announced today that the FDA has granted Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy (RMAT) designation to ANKTIVA and CAR-NK (PD-L1 t-haNK) for the reversal of Lymphopenia in Patients Receiving Standard-of-Care Chemotherapy/Radiotherapy and in Patients with Multiply Relapsed Locally Advanced or Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer. The complete blood count (CBC) is a routine assay that oncologists use to examine the immune system’s condition after chemotherapy and radiation.

Recent Trends:

Emerging trends include rise of combination therapies, advancements in genetic engineering, increasing personalization in therapy, and expansion into solid tumors.

With advances in genetic modification technologies, numerous ways have been used to generate NK cells. Advances in gene editing, including the CRISPR/Cas9 technology, have enabled precise NK cell manipulation. Gene editing can enhance NK cell antitumor efficiency by knocking out disruptive genes or knocking in CARs, activating cytokines, or chemokines. Further study is needed to fully exploit the promise of genetically modified NK cells in cancer immunotherapy and infectious disease treatment.

On February 2024, Indapta Therapeutics, Inc., a privately held biotechnology company developing next-generation differentiated cell therapies for the treatment of cancer and other immune-mediated diseases, announced that the US FDA has granted Fast Track designation to its lead clinical program, IDP-023, for the treatment of patients with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and multiple myeloma.

Restraints & Challenges:

Despite the benefits of NK cell-mediated cancer immunotherapy, its implementation confronts significant obstacles. A major impediment is the poor persistence of injected NK cells without cytokine support, which can reduce in vivo therapy efficacy. The tumor microenvironment (TME) is defined by immunosuppressive factors and situations that greatly impair NK cell activity, such as inhibitory cytokine production, suppressive immune cells, and adverse metabolic conditions. This TME syndrome inhibits NK cell invasion and function within malignancies.

Because the tumor microenvironment (TME) is diverse and suppressive, NK cell activation within tumor lesions is frequently insufficient. Many tumor cells lack sufficient ligand expression to override inhibitory signals supplied by the same cell. Furthermore, unlike adaptive immune cells, NK cells do not have antigen-specific receptors. As a result, boosting tumor selectivity and improving killing efficacy are critical areas requiring significant research efforts.

Therapy Type Segment Insights and Analysis:

Based on the therapy type, the natural killer cell therapeutics market is segmented into allogeneic NK cell therapy, autologous NK cell therapy, and CAR-NK cell therapy.

Allogeneic NK cell therapy segment contributed the largest market share in 2024. Allogeneic NK cell infusions are appealing for cancer therapy due to their non-cross-resistant mechanisms of action and low overlapping toxicities with current cancer treatments. The use of allogeneic NK cells from non-HLA-related healthy donors enables for more flexible donor NK cell selection as well as the preparation of expanded, cryopreserved NK cells for immediate administration and ex vivo expansion. In cancer therapy with allogeneic NK cells, proper matching of donors and recipients is critical to maximize the efficacy.

On May 2024, Indapta Therapeutics, Inc., a privately held biotechnology company developing next-generation differentiated cell therapies for cancer and autoimmune diseases, announced that the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) has awarded the company a competitive product development research grant. The USD 4.5 million funding will help Indapta continue clinical development of its main medication, IDP-023, for patients with advanced non-Hodgkin lymphoma and multiple myeloma.

Approaches Segment Insights and Analysis:

Based on the approaches, the natural killer cell therapeutics market is segmented into bispecific antibodies and Antibody-Dependent Cell-Mediated Cytotoxicity (ADCC).

Bispecific antibodies segment contributed the largest market share in 2024. Bispecific antibodies (BsAbs) have gained popularity in recent years for tumor treatment, with most of them targeting CD3, which mediates the death of tumor cells by T lymphocytes. In preclinical and clinical studies, bispecific T-cell engagers (BiTEs) were found to be the most common BsAbs. Bispecific antibodies can enhance the death of tumor cells by CD8+ T lymphocytes or NK cells and have been used successfully to treat a variety of malignancies. So far, bispecific antibody-based immunotherapies targeting HIV-1 infected cells have concentrated on engaging CD8+ T cells.

On December 2023, NAYA Biosciences Inc. and ONK Therapeutics, an innovative cell therapy company dedicated to developing the next generation of optimally engineered off-the-shelf natural killer (NK) cell therapies, announced a research collaboration to evaluate combination therapy using NAYA’s FLEX-NK bispecific antibodies and ONK’s optimally engineered NK cells.

Indication Segment Insights and Analysis:

Based on the indication, the natural killer cell therapeutics market is segmented into cancer, infectious diseases, autoimmune and inflammatory disorders, and others.

Cancer segment contributed the largest market share in 2024. Cancer segment is further sub-segmented into hematologic malignancies and solid tumors. According to Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS), in the United States is diagnosed with leukemia, lymphoma, or myeloma every three minutes. By 2024, experts estimate that 187,740 people in the United States will receive a diagnosis of leukemia, lymphoma, or myeloma. They project that these cases will account for 9.4 percent of the 2,001,140 new cancer diagnoses expected in the country that year.

On December 2024, Indapta Therapeutics, Inc., a privately held clinical stage biotechnology company developing next-generation differentiated cell therapies for cancer and autoimmune diseases, has announced a collaboration with Sanofi to investigate the combination of its allogeneic g-NK cell therapy, IDP-023, and Sanofi’s CD38-targeting monoclonal antibody, Sarclisa (isatuximab). According to the agreement, Indapta will sponsor the clinical investigation, Sanofi will supply Sarclisa, and the parties will co-fund it.

Infectious diseases segment contributed the fastest revenue growth during the forecasted period. Infectious diseases are further sub-segmented into CMV, HIV, hepatitis, and others. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), by the end of 2023, an estimated 39.9 million individuals were living with HIV, including 1.4 million children (0-14 years old) and 38.6 million adults (15+).  In 2023, 630 000 [500 000-820 000] persons died from HIV-related causes worldwide.  In 2023, 30.7 million people, or 77% of those living with HIV, were taking antiretroviral medication worldwide.

On February 2025, researchers at the Wistar Institute’s HIV Cure and Viral Diseases Center have discovered a novel method for targeting and killing HIV-positive cells, which allows the virus to persist. Wistar scientists have named this new technique “NuKES” (Natural Killer Enhancement Strategy). Laboratory testing demonstrated that CD64 expression can maintain HIV-specific antibodies on NK cells for weeks, allowing them to target and destroy infected cells.

Geographical Outlook:

Natural killer cell therapeutics market is strategically segmented by geography to provide a comprehensive understanding of regional market dynamic. Discover demand analysis, emerging trends, and growth opportunities shaping market performance across different region and countries.

North America Natural Killer Cell Therapeutics Market:

North America is registered to have largest market share in natural killer cell therapeutics market in 2024. This is mainly driven by rising incidence of chronic diseases and advancements in cell engineering technologies. According to a report by the American Cancer Society, it predicts 2,041,910 new cancer diagnoses and 618,120 cancer deaths in the United States by 2025. This figure comprises 66,890 new leukemia cases and 23,540 fatalities, as well as 89,070 new lymphoma cases and 20,540 deaths.

On October 2024, Coeptis Therapeutics Holdings, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company that develops innovative cell therapy platforms for cancer, autoimmune, and infectious diseases, has expanded its license agreement with Deverra Therapeutics Inc., broadening the potential applications of its allogeneic natural killer (NK) cell technology. This extension includes the use of unmodified NK cells to treat viral infections, pandemic-related illnesses, and emergency preparedness for future health catastrophes.

Asia Pacific Natural Killer Cell Therapeutics Market:

Asia Pacific is expected to register the fastest growth rate during the forecasted period, driven by increase in incidence of chronic diseases, rising clinical development and increase in R&D infrastructure. By 2024, experts project that Korea will see 292,221 new cancer cases and 83,770 cancer-related deaths. They expect thyroid cancer to be the most common, followed by cancers of the colon and rectum, lung, breast, and stomach. These five types of cancer are predicted to contribute 55.7% of the total cancer burden in the country.

On April 2024, Ingenium Therapeutics, a pioneer in next-generation NK cell therapeutics, announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has designated its investigational medication IGNK001 (Gengluecel) as an orphan drug for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Ingenium’s proprietary technology allows the company to differentiate and proliferate natural killer (NK) cells with high anti-cancer activity. Targeting CD3-negative immune cells allows the company to obtain many extremely pure NK cells in a short period of time.  

Europe Natural Killer Cell Therapeutics Market:

Europe is expected to have considerable market share in 2024, driven by strong research and innovation ecosystem, clinical trial infrastructure, and focus on personalized therapy. Furthermore, presence of healthcare infrastructure and government funding across NK cells is also driving the market revenue growth in the region.

On July 2023, NK:IO, a leader in NK cell biology applied to the creation of extraordinarily potent, off-the-shelf cell treatments targeting solid tumors, announced that it has received GBP 1.6 million in grant funding from Innovate UK’s New Cancer Therapeutics initiative. The investment will go toward preclinical development, including the creation of a manufacturing method in conjunction with the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult, whose purpose is to support the UK’s cell and gene therapy industries. This platform allows for easy engineering of progenitor cells to produce next-generation NK cells with increased potency or tumor targeting, which NK:IO is working on for specific difficult-to-treat tumor subtypes.

Competition Analysis:

The natural killer cell therapeutics market is characterized by a fragmented structure, with several players competing across various segments and regions. list of major players included in the natural killer cell therapeutics market report are:

• Nkarta, Inc.
• Artiva Biotherapeutics
• MiNK Therapeutics
• Indapta Therapeutics
• ONK Therapeutics Limited
• Dragonfly Therapeutics
• Glycostem Therapautics B.V.
• NKGen Biotech 
• ImmunityBio
• Senti Biosciences
• Fate Therapeutics
• NKGen Biotech
• NKILT Therapeutics
• NK:IO Limited
• GT Biopharma, Inc.

Strategic Developments in Natural Killer Cell Therapeutics Market:

• In December 2024, Indapta Therapeutics, Inc., a privately held clinical stage biotechnology company developing next-generation cell therapies for the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases, announced the completion of a USD 22.5 million round of new financing to accelerate the clinical development of its differentiated allogeneic Natural Killer (NK) cells. The financing was completed by current investors RA Capital Management, LP, Leaps by Bayer, Bayer AG’s impact investment arm, Vertex Ventures HC, Pontifax, and the Myeloma Investment Fund, the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation’s venture philanthropy affiliate.
• In February 2024, WACKER has achieved a milestone by establishing an mRNA competency center at its biotech facility in Halle, Germany. The new facility enables large-scale manufacturing of active components derived from messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA), such as anti-Covid mRNA vaccines. WACKER has invested over 100 million euros in this construction project. More than 100 highly qualified positions have already been created in Halle.
• In November 2022, NKGen Biotech, Inc., a biotechnology company that harnesses the power of the body’s immune system to develop natural killer (NK) cell therapies, has announced a collaboration with the Parkinson’s Foundation. The collaboration will focus on ways to help accelerate NKGen’s clinical program using its novel autologous NK cell therapy (SNK01) for the treatment of advanced Parkinson’s disease (PD) through its network of clinical partners and donors.

Key Advantages for Stakeholders:

Navistrat Analytics’ industry report provides an in-depth quantitative analysis of various market segments, historical and current trends, market forecasts, and dynamics within the global market. The historical years covered in this report are 2022 to 2023, with 2024 serving as the base year for market size calculations. The forecast period extends from 2025 to 2032.

The report includes an executive summary and a comprehensive overview of market drivers, restraints, opportunities, and challenges (DROC), along with insights into regulatory standards. It features detailed analyses such as PORTER’s Five Forces, SWOT, and PESTLE, as well as assessments of technological trends and the competitive landscape.

PORTER’s Five Forces analysis helps stakeholders evaluate the impact of new entrants, competitive rivalry, supplier power, buyer power, and substitution threats, enabling them to assess the level of competition and the attractiveness of the global market. The competitive landscape provides stakeholders with a clear understanding of the current market positions of key players, offering valuable insights into their competitive environment.

Scope And Key Highlights Of The Natural Killer Cell Therapeutics Market Report:

The Natural Killer Cell Therapeutics market report offers a detailed analysis of market size, including historical revenue (in USD Million) data for 2022-2023 and revenue forecasts for 2025-2032 across the following segments:

• Therapy Type Outlook (Revenue, USD Million; 2022-2032)
  • Allogeneic NK Cell Therapy
  • Autologous NK Cell Therapy
  • CAR-NK Cell Therapy

• Source Outlook (Revenue, USD Million; 2022-2032)
  • Peripheral Blood
  • Umbilical Cord Blood
  • Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell (iPSC)
  • NK Cell Lines

• Approaches Outlook (Revenue, USD Million; 2022-2032)
  • Bispecific Antibodies
  • Antibody-Dependent Cell-Mediated Cytotoxicity (ADCC)

• Indication Outlook (Revenue, USD Million; 2022-2032)
  • Cancer
    • Hematologic Malignancies
    • Solid Tumors
  • Infectious Diseases
    • CMV
    • HIV
    • Hepatitis
    • Others
  • Autoimmune and Inflammatory Disorders
  • Others
• End-Use Outlook (Revenue, USD Million; 2022-2032)
  • Hospitals & Cancer Treatment Centers
  • Research Institutes & Academic Centers
  • Biopharmaceutical & Cell Therapy Companies

• Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million; 2022-2032)
  • North America
    • U.S.
    • Canada
    • Mexico
  • Europe
    • Germany
    • France
    • U.K.
    • Italy
    • Spain
    • Benelux
    • Nordic Countries
    • Rest of Europe
  • Asia Pacific
    • China
    • India
    • Japan
    • South Korea
    • Oceania
    • ASEAN Countries
    • Rest of APAC
  • Latin America
    • Brazil
    • Rest of LATAM
  • Middle East & Africa
    • GCC Countries
    • South Africa
    • Israel
    • Turkey
    • Rest of MEA

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