Contract Services
SPECIAL FEATURE - Outsourcing Formulation Development & Manufacturing: CDMOs Shift to Offer More Specialized Services
Contributor Cindy H. Dubin speaks with several innovative CDMOs to discuss their formulation development and manufacturing capabilities (as well as shifting strategies) for bio/pharma companies of all sizes.
PARENTERAL DEVELOPMENT - Considerations in Developing Complex Parenteral Formulations
Iain MacGilp, PhD, says the path to delivering stable, apparently simple solution, suspension, or emulsion formulations is multi-faceted and requires a constant focus on key control measures through pre-formulation development to commercialization.
EXECUTIVE INTERVIEW - Synteract: Advances in Pediatric Clinical Research & the Promise for the Future
Dr. Martine Dehlinger-Kremer, Vice President, Pediatric Development at Synteract, reviews current and significant challenges in pediatric clinical research, advancement of regulations surrounding them, and where the industry is headed.
SPECIAL FEATURE - Prefilled Syringes & Parenteral Manufacturing: Flexibility for Faster Development
Contributor Cindy H. Dubin interviews several contract manufacturers and device developers who are responsible for creating next-generation parenteral drug delivery.
EXECUTIVE INTERVIEW - PAREXEL: Advancing Patient-Centric Drug Development to Improve Clinical Trial Success
Sy Pretorius, MD, Senior VP, Medical & Scientific Services at PAREXEL, discusses the new Patient Innovation Center and how it is helping to improve the patient experience, enhance study recruitment and retention, reduce costs, and deliver better data.
DRUG DISCOVERY - Zebrafish in Preclinical Drug Development - A Small Fish With Big Returns
Rafael Miñana, PhD, explores the benefits of preclinical outsourcing, the value of zebrafish as an alternative model, as well as the challenges and opportunities of managing a highly diversified portfolio and providing customized solutions.
EXECUTIVE INTERVIEW - PCI Synthesis: Acquisition by Seqens Expands its Pharmaceutical Offerings
Ed Price, President and CEO of PCI Synthesis, reflects on the trends fostering the CDMO industry consolidation and the positive impact it augurs in addressing sponsors’ needs to enter the clinic more quickly and safely.
DRUG DISCOVERY - Validated Phenotypic Approach to Neuropsychiatric Drug Discovery
Emer Leahy, PhD, reviews how the SmartCube platform represents a novel approach to discovering the next generation of breakthrough treatments for schizophrenia and other neuropsychiatric disorders.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE - Practical Applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Drug Data Quality & Research
Robert Stanley believes by treating AI as one more tool within a broad data quality toolkit, and by focusing narrowly on specific research and business bottlenecks, it is possible to efficiently bring real practical benefits to research and business.
CHARACTERIZATION CORNER - From Dilute Sample to Clinically Representative Formulation: Analyzing the Higher Order Structure of mAbs Over a Wide Dynamic Range
Jeff Zonderman explains how the characterization of mAbs at high concentration in clinically representative formulations, without the need for dilution or concern for interference from a formulation buffer’s excipient, is vital.
EXCLUSIVE ONLINE CONTENT
Biolojic Design Announces Nektar Therapeutics Has Exercised its License Option to Develop an AI-Designed Agonistic Antibody Targeting TNFR2 for the Treatment of Autoimmune Diseases
Program is the Product of a Research Collaboration between Biolojic Design and Nektar entered in 2021….
Cellares & Bristol Myers Squibb Announce $380-M Worldwide Capacity Reservation & Supply Agreement
Cellares, the world’s first Integrated Development and Manufacturing Organization (IDMO), will allocate multiple Cell Shuttles and its fully automated, high-throughput Cell Q systems across its IDMO Smart Factories in the US, EU, and Japan for Bristol Myers Squibb’s use ….
Neurolentech Signs Technology Access Partnership With Kaerus Bioscience
Kaerus Bioscience will access Neurolentech’s NDD Drug Discovery Platform to support development of its preclinical asset pipeline for numerous genetic syndromes….
Kincell Bio & Imugene Announce Strategic Manufacturing & Process Development Partnership
Kincell Bio to acquire Imugene’s North Carolina manufacturing facility for up to $6M USD in upfront and milestone-driven payments over 3 years….
Naobios & Sumagen Sign Exclusive Partnership to Develop HIV Vaccine
Naobios will manage process development and initiate launch of cGMP manufacturing for Phase 2 clinical trials….
MARKET NEWS & TRENDS
WEBINARS
WEBINAR - 2024 Trends in Topical Drug Delivery: Insights & Innovation
This webinar will discuss some of the key trends from these leaders in the topical market on both a global and regional level, including the increased importance of sensory properties and the rise in non-conventional product formats, among others…..
WEBINAR - Enabling Upstream Intensified Bioprocessing
Intensified upstream bioprocesses are being developed to increase productivity while reducing footprint, costs, and timelines for manufacturing. The higher cell densities generated by….
WEBINAR - Nanoparticle Suspensions: History, Applications & CMC Aspects
This webinar describes the history, CMC aspects, and potential applications of nanoparticle suspensions (NSs). This drug delivery technology should be considered for crystalline, sparingly water-soluble APIs. The presentation highlights….
WEBINAR - Impact of Process Re-design on Sustainability in Pharmaceutical Small Molecule Manufacturing
Join us for an upcoming webinar that delves into a crucial issue in the pharmaceutical industry. Recent research has revealed a surprising fact: the pharmaceutical sector has a larger carbon footprint than even the automotive industry, especially when we consider the entire supply chain’s impact on
ON-DEMAND WEBINAR – Solve Common Design Challenges in Inhalation Devices With Porous Polymers
The effectiveness of inhalation devices relies on their ability to deliver the pharmaceutical directly to the targeted part of the body with precision and calculated dosing. Since these devices….
WHITE PAPERS
WHITEPAPER - 3 Key Things to Consider When Choosing a Partner for Your Tech Transfer
One way of streamlining tech transfer is to partner with a CMO demonstrating a proven track record across the entire drug development and manufacturing continuum. Not only will an experienced CMO partner have the scientific ,,,,
WHITEPAPER - Manufacturing of 10-mg Loratadine Self-Emulsifying Drug Delivery System (SEDDS) Tablets by Direct Compression With ABISORB-DC & ABISOL Emulsion Preconcentrate Kit
10-mg loratadine SEDDS were successfully manufactured with ABISORB-DC(TM) and ABISOL(TM) 2 by direct compression on a rotary tablet press, employing standard pharmaceutical manufacturing equipment…..
WHITEPAPER - Revolutionizing Small Molecule API Production: Unveiling the Impact of Fermentation as a Sustainable Solution
While large molecules continue to advance in drug development pipelines, small molecule Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) still retain their historical dominance among new drug applications…
WHITEPAPER - Minimizing API Supply Chain Risks
By the time your API is brought to a contract manufacturing organization (CMO), you have already put extensive amounts of resources into developing it. It becomes essential….
WHITEPAPER: Innovating Pharma Barrier Packaging for a Sustainable Future
Honeywell Aclar® thermoformable film enables pharmaceutical and medical device companies to achieve their sustainability commitments….
Contract Services Market Overview
Increasing patent expirations of major drugs, the growing burden of chronic diseases, and elevated global awareness of vaccines are leading to a surge in outsourcing formulation development services. Industry experts say these trends put a value on the global pharmaceutical CDMO Market at $160.12 billion in 2020, and could reach $236.61 billion by 2026, while the North American CDMO market is expected to reach $101.1 billion by 2030. As more pharma/biopharma companies opt to partner with CDMOs, much of this activity is occurring in the early phase of development with the goal of overcoming risk, along with saving time and money as a drug passes through the development pipeline.
Sectors of the CDMO market – sterile injectables, prefilled syringes, biologics APIs, and viral vectors – are expected to expand quickly, driven by an accelerating shift in the pharmaceutical market toward innovative biologic and cell and gene therapy products. Nonetheless, small molecules will continue to represent the majority of prescribed drugs for the foreseeable future and thus are the major growth driver for the CDMO market.
Who Uses Contract Services?
Experts see a strong correlation between size of a company and its likelihood to outsource. In 2017, manufacturing of 20% of newly approved drugs was outsourced by Big Pharma; this increases to 80% of all manufacturing being contracted out by small biotech/pharma. And all 15 newly approved drugs in 2017 owned by small companies were supplied by CDMOs.
Rare diseases, fast-tracked drugs, and oncology treatments now account for much of pharma’s development pipeline, so it is important that CDMOs provide specialized capabilities, technology, expertise, and experience relevant to these types of programs. For expedited pathways, it is important, too, that development partners understand the interwoven and related steps essential to progressing a program efficiently and quickly. To that end companies have invested in technology and capabilities such as hot melt extrusion, spray-dry dispersions, and lipid formulation to provide options for small-molecule development, often to address the all-too-common hurdle of poor solubility and bioavailability.
How to Work with Contract Service Providers
Getting a CDMO engaged in the development process as early as possible avoids spending time exploring the wrong solutions and coming up with suboptimal formulations that need to be corrected before manufacturing. By bringing a CDMO in earlier in the process, they can more accurately assess which technologies and approaches can work on a project.
As drug products become more complex, there is increasing customer demand for relationships with CDMOs that have core competencies in highly specialized formulation and process technology areas.
One of these specialty areas is complex molecules. Biotech companies developing novel biologics are increasing in the market, thus there is an increase in outsourcing development services to BioCDMOs. To serve the needs of this market, companies are expanding their bio capabilities to offer advanced manufacturing technologies.
Another area of expertise where pharma is relying on CDMOs is in cell and gene therapy. Industry insiders expect gene therapy manufacturing market to boom and grow at rates ranging from 15 to 20%. Benefits of partnering with a cell or gene therapy CDMO include scalability, speed to market, access to technical expertise without overhead costs, and cost efficiencies. Demand for specialized manufacturing and clinical trial support for cell and gene therapies has resulted in more than 40 companies offering these services.