The transformation of the therapeutic biotech sector could be compared to that of an ugly duckling that failed to impress following the initial biotech boom, but which has transformed into a swan – looking wonderful on the surface, yet battling undercurrents of uncertainty and underfunding below the waterline. There is no doubt that the sector is increasingly delivering novel therapies that will transform medicine in the future but huge investment is required to produce the new therapies commercially and, for many products, reimbursement models are yet to be decided.
Biotechnology has steadily provided new routes to better targeted and more effective drugs in the form of biologicals and biosimilars. The potential for even better therapies via monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) is creating further interest in this sector. Meanwhile, regenerative medicines – once just a distant dream – are now taking shape and being seriously discussed in terms of practical scale-up and manufacturing facilities.
Looking at the biopharmaceutical sector, Frost & Sullivan (F&S) says considerable growth opportunities lie ahead for biopharmaceutical contract manufacturing organisations (CMOs).1 With blockbuster biologics worth more than US$100m due to lose patent protection by 2019, F&S predicts the global biosimilars market will grow at a robust compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 60.4% between 2012 and 2019.
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