Contract Services
EXECUTIVE INTERVIEW - Pfizer CentreOne: The Value of the Embedded-CMO Model
Peter Stevenson, Vice President and General Manager of Pfizer CentreOne, discusses the value and significance of the embedded-CMO model in the biopharmaceutical industry.
EXECUTIVE INTERVIEW - PCT: Manufacturing the Future of Cell Therapies
Robert A. Preti, PhD, discusses his company’s critical distinction from most other manufacturing partners, steady growth, and the primary challenges facing the cell therapy industry.
ASSAY VALIDATION - Biomarker Assay Validations – A Time for Change?
John L. Allinson, FIBMS, believes despite the increased use of biomarkers, it appears that many researchers are still continuing to use the FDA guidance document for validation even though it only critically addresses the validation of assays to support PK evaluation, and also has a limited scope described within the document in terms of studies where it should be used.
CLINICAL RESEARCH - Behind the Wave: Clinical Research in a Digital Transformation Era
Kai Langel believes the remote research model and purpose-built technology offer the tools and the right process to help modernize clinical research and bring it closer to the high standard set by today’s consumer technologies.
SPECIAL FEATURE - Formulation Development & Manufacturing - CDMOs Offer Speed, Advanced Technologies, & the Ability to Handle More Potent APIs
Contributor Cindy H. Dubin speaks with some of the industry’s leading CDMOs to highlight their capabilities in the areas of speed, quality, technology, and handling of complex APIs.
SAMPLE PREPARATION MARKETS - Automation & Application Trends Drive Growth in Sample Preparation Markets
Christi Bird indicates sample preparation remains a critical task in many research and testing workflows across biopharmaceutical, basic research, clinical, and industrial applications. While the market lacks the hype and excitement of NGS, CRISPR/Cas9, or the microRNA and epigenetics boom several years ago, the sample preparation market will always be a slow and steady gainer on an already large market size.
CONTRACT MANUFACTURING - Flexibility in an Evolving Market
Matthew Moorcroft, PhD, warns that in the fast-moving pharmaceutical industry, change is the only constant. And to keep up with market developments, small molecule manufacturers must first understand the trends.
CLINICAL TRIALS - It’s Time to Revamp the Unsexy Plumbing of Clinical Trials
Craig Morgan says as clinical trials continue to evolve, drug companies will no longer be able to rely on existing, tried-and-tested manual methods or point solutions for success. And technology integration in the eClinical stack is not sufficient to bring about the step change in productivity that has to happen.
EXECUTIVE INTERVIEW - Vetter: Establishing a Successful Clinical Fill & Finish Manufacturing Site for Biologics
Dr. Susanne Resatz, President of Vetter Development Services USA, Inc., discusses the many benefits to small biotech companies in utilizing the services of a full-service CDMO, and what advanced services the Chicago-based facility offers its growing customer base.
BIOMARKERS - FDA’s Design Control Requirements for Biomarkers in Drug Development
Kaiser J. Aziz, PhD, says the availability of validated biomarker-drug companion products will enable the molecular diagnostics and pharmaceutical industries to develop and rely on new genomic biomarkers in order to elucidate disease pathways, stratify patient populations, and monitor safe and effective use of these products.
EXCLUSIVE ONLINE CONTENT
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….
Asahi Kasei Bioprocess & Axolabs Announce Strategic Partnership to Accelerate Oligonucleotide Therapeutics Development
Asahi Kasei Bioprocess (AKB), part of the Asahi Kasei Group, and Axolabs have recently announced a strategic partnership in the burgeoning field of oligonucleotide….
4BIO Capital Portfolio Company Ascend Acquires Florida-Based GMP Manufacturing Capacity
Long-Term Partnership Agreed with Beacon Therapeutics for Clinical and Commercial AAV Production….
ProMed Pharma Acquires SpineThera Manufacturing Capabilities & Option to License Intellectual Property
ProMed Pharma LLC and SpineThera, Inc. recently announced ProMed Pharma has acquired SpineThera’s cGMP manufacturing operational assets. ProMed Pharma also obtained an option to….
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.