BIO
Improving the patient experience is a key driver for many pharmaceutical companies. This means that CDMOs are expected to find innovative ways to optimise the outcome of patient care by improving the treatments they offer, including the exploration of new administration methods and providing treatment options for niche patient populations.
As a result, there are three key trends set to shape the CDMO industry in 2023 and beyond:
Enhancing patient adherence through new formulation and administration technologies:
More pharmaceutical companies are turning to CDMOs to help them improve their drug delivery systems and enhance patient adherence to treatment. This involves developing more convenient formulations, such as oral solutions instead of injections for biologics. Despite the sensitivity of biologics to the gastrointestinal tract, advances in technology have made it possible to develop some biologics, such as insulin, for oral delivery. Similarly, innovations in nozzle technology for inhalation devices have enabled the development of self-administered inhaled vaccines. Pharmaceutical companies trying to harness these innovations face challenges when it comes to ensuring the expertise, capabilities and capacities required to bring them to market. As a result, CDMOs will play a crucial role in helping these companies adopt the cutting-edge formulation technologies they need to achieve these goals.
Bringing orphan drugs to market:
While orphan drug therapies have the potential to transform the lives of patients with unmet needs, delivering them to market is challenging for pharmaceutical companies, especially when it comes to cost-effective manufacturing. A small number of people are affected by the rare diseases these therapies are intended to treat - this means that only small volumes of drug product are required, and new manufacturing processes are needed to make them financially viable. Drug manufacturers involved in orphan drug development must therefore partner with specialist CDMOs equipped with these innovative processing techniques to achieve cost-efficient commercialisation.
Increased demand for personalised medicine support:
Personalised medicine is an increasing focus for many pharmaceutical companies, allowing them to deliver treatments customised to specific patient populations. These treatments are developed based on individualised information, such as genetics, weight, and age, resulting in more effective treatments with fewer side effects. CDMOs equipped with advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), are poised to play a crucial role in this field by leveraging this data to identify personalised solutions for each patient. Beyond personalised medicine, CDMOs harnessing AI and ML can also help expedite data analysis, reduce timelines, mitigate the risk of delays, and maximise the chance of project success.
In our latest piece with Contract Pharma, Uwe Hanenberg, Head of Product Development, Oral Solid Dose at Recipharm and Dr Kai Lipinski, Chief Scientific Officer at ReciBioPharm, discuss these key trends in more detail and the ways they are set to shape the future of the CDMO industry in 2023 and beyond.