Biopharmaceuticals have become a major part of the world’s pharmacopoeia. Biologic drugs of all kinds have taken centre stage and are now mainstream enough that consumers know them by their brand name. Competition, societal expectations, pricing, commoditisation and regulatory compliance lead the long list of concerns that are pressuring the industry to turn to bioprocessing capacity. That demand is also attracting billions of dollars in finance — funds that are accelerating research and development, filling pipelines and, importantly, investing in the processing capacity that the industry needs to supply the market.1
Biopharma’s manufacturing modus operandi remains heavily wedded to batch methods, with commercial process precedents being set in the lab; but, during the last 15 years or so, most drug manufacturers have come to understand that this is not a sustainable strategy.2 Evidence continues to mount that major pharmaceutical manufacturers are steadily adopting and integrating more modern processing and manufacturing concepts into their day-to-day operations.
Nice Insight’s 2017 Pharmaceutical Equipment Survey queried nearly 600 highly qualified pharmaceutical industry professionals from 90 companies involved in specifying and purchasing new equipment, systems and related technologies.3 The survey asked those with purchasing authority specifically about spending and the trajectory of their budgets, with 73% reporting an increase from 2014 to 2016.
Study responses revealed that 64% had an interest in purchasing both upstream and downstream processing equipment. Among respondents, 41% of those manufacturing oral solid dose forms indicated an interest in purchasing process automation software and 39% expressed an interest in computer or automation systems. Another 36% were seeking manufacturing execution system (MES) software and 35% were interested in process simulation and systems validation software. Lastly, 34% were interested in acquiring computer integrated manufacturing software.
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