SFF
In 2023 and beyond, we can expect a continued increase in demand for sterile filling and finish services, particularly for specialised dosage forms such as pre-filled syringes, cartridges, and lyophilized products.
This increase is driven by the growing number of biologics in development, which require parenteral administration and therefore aseptic processing and finishing.
More pharmaceutical companies are exploring self-administration options such as auto-injectors, soft mist inhalers, and nasal devices, all of which necessitate fill and finish services as well as specialist assembly and packaging.
Despite this positive outlook for the fill and finish part of the market, we can expect the supply chain constraints, high inflation rates, and energy insecurity experienced in 2022 to continue into 2023.
To keep up with demand, CDMOs (contract development and manufacturing organisations) must continue to carefully manage their growth and navigate a complex supplier situation in order to support their customers effectively.
As demand for COVID-19 vaccine filling is likely to decrease in the new year, competition among CDMOs for other large-volume, high-throughput aseptic liquid filling projects is expected to increase.
There is also a trend towards regional rather than global supplier relationships, as companies look to enhance the robustness and reliability of their supply chains and respond to potential moves by certain governments, particularly the US and China, to incentivise onshoring of supply.
In our latest piece with BioPharm International, Recipharm explore the trends we can expect to see in 2023 and discusses how CDMOs will continue to play a part in supporting pharma companies with their fill and finish needs.