The growing interest and demand for biopharmaceuticals and biosimilars is pushing the industry to invest in more biopharmaceutical processing and packaging technology and capacity.
Biopharmaceutical Processing Outlook
Compared to small molecule products (typically oral solid dosage) which are synthesized chemically, biopharmaceuticals are manufactured from biological sources and are designed for the treatment of various diseases for which there are no available treatments. Biopharmaceuticals involves highly complex manufacturing capabilities. This involves genetically engineered living cells that must be frozen for storage, thawed without causing any damage, and made to grow in a reaction vessel. The molecules once produced must then be segregated from the living cells that produced them and the media in which they were made, all without damaging their complex, fragile structures. Such production facilities are more expensive and involve longer time lines to build compared to small molecule drugs. These facilities are also significantly costlier to run, involving long process durations, low yields, costly raw materials, and require a team of highly skilled experts.
According to the Research and Markets latest report “Global Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing Market Report 2017-2021, “The efficacy and safety of biopharmaceuticals, coupled with their ability to address previously untreatable conditions, allows healthcare companies to command higher prices and margins for these drugs. Driven by their numerous advantages over conventional drugs, biopharmaceuticals today represent a big opportunity and represent more than 20% of the total global pharmaceutical sales. The current annual growth rate of biopharmaceuticals is also double that of conventional drugs, and growth is expected to remain robust for the foreseeable future.”
Analysts also speculate that with the anticipated launch of a number of biosimilar drugs in the next five years, there will be a significant expansion in the global biopharmaceutical manufacturing capacity.
Regional Market Overview
Currently, North America accounts for the largest biomanufacturing capacity followed by Europe and Asia. Technological advancements and high healthcare spending are some of the major factors that are driving the growth of the North American market. On the other hand, driven by factors such as emerging markets, increasing trends of contract manufacturing and a large patient pool, Asia will represent the fastest growing market.
Biopharmaceutical Packaging
According to the report the global parenteral packaging market is poised to grow at a CAGR of around 11.5% over the next decade to reach approximately $22.91 billion by 2025.
Commenting on the report, an analyst from the research team said: “One of the key trends for market growth will be the growing demand for tamper-evident closures. Tamper-evident closures help prevent leakage, and they protect the parenteral products from breakage and consequent contamination. These closures have a Luer connection or Luer lock connection with a plastic closure end. The cap is connected to the vial by a frangible web. The cap and frangible web are fixed together in one piece and connected at the end of the vial by welding during plastic injection molding. Demand will also benefit from the increase in the use of plastic packaging material as the plastic containers have plastic caps and closures. In addition, high packaging requirements for pharmaceutical products including parenteral products will require closures, which have features such as, tamper-evidence and ease of dispensing features.”
According to the report, “an increase in demand for prefilled syringes will be a key driver for market growth. Safety features and ease of use make the prefilled syringe a preferred option among retail consumers. The prefilled syringes market accounted for $3.5 billion in 2015 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 14% during the forecast period. This is fueling innovations such as multi-chambered syringes, which reduce the level of leachables and extractables.
These syringes offer several advantages like increasing useful product life, minimization of drug waste, and convenience in drug administration. Also, these multi-chambered syringes are integrated with advanced delivery systems, including pens and auto-injectors. Though the market is dominated by glass variants, the demand for the high-quality barrier in plastic variants has increased.”
Geographically, Europe accounted for the largest share of the global fill-finish manufacturing market in 2017.
The growing focus on the development of biosimilars due to the patent expiry of key biologic products is one of the major factors supporting the growth of the European market. Followed by Europe, North America accounted for the second-largest share of the global fill-finish manufacturing market in 2017.