Emerging Innovations — And Their Pending Impact On Biopharma Manufacturing
By Rob Wright, Chief Editor, Life Science Leader
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As we started putting together the manufacturing outlook article for our December 2017 issue, we were forced to confront the reality of having too much content. Such problems sometimes happen when lucky enough to get 10 biopharmaceutical manufacturing industry thought leaders willing to participate in our annual outlook endeavor, combined with the reality of being a print publication. This is one of the reasons why we created Life Science Leader’s exclusive Beyond The Printed Page online section of the magazine. We hope you enjoy this latest installment where three biopharmaceutical executives provide perspective on what emerging innovations could impact manufacturing within the next few years. If you like what you read, consider subscribing today at our current special rate of $49 (enter coupon code ED49). For while Beyond The Printed Page remains free, accessing all the great content Life Science Leader magazine has to offer still requires a subscription. By the way, here is a link to another great biopharma manufacturing article — 6 Manufacturing KOLs Reveal The Trends They Find Most Exciting.
What Are The Top Emerging Innovations That Will Impact Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing Within The Next Five Years?
Wolfram Carius, Ph.D., head of pharmaceuticals product supply, Bayer: Gene editing, targeted drug delivery of genetic information via viral vector, and 3-D printing applications with living cells (organs) are some of the most promising candidates today. But all kinds of digital enablers such as advanced analytics, collaborative robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), etc., will change our way of working. Cloud-based technology is expected to improve global manufacturing network setups or supply chain optimization including warehouses and transportation. The new transparency will transform technical development and manufacturing into a totally transparent operation for regulators with the aim of facilitating and accelerating conditional approvals. As for biosimilars, new players will by then become more active in health care.
Paul McKenzie, Ph.D., EVP pharmaceutical operations & technology, Biogen: The Internet of Things (IoT) will drive a new level of data, data analytics and interaction between companies, payers and patients. The growth of connectivity within the industry, and the larger healthcare environment, has the potential to streamline information in a way that shows a clearer picture of the value of treatments. Real-time sensors for adherence and measurement of patient quality of life will drive a different clinical standard of care. For certain therapeutic areas, there will be an opportunity to merge advancements in medical devices with advances in therapies. Biomarkers will continue to be a major impact on clinical trial design and on understanding the prevention/interception/symptom relief paradigm. Finally, disruptive technologies to drive stabilization of molecules to avoid cold chain will get more of a focus.
Robert Stewart, EVP, COO, Allergan: Nanotechnology combined with cloud computing has the potential to help patients remember to take their medicines. The Internet of Things (IoT) will continue to connect technology and business systems to increase integration across the business. There is also potential for innovation in quality controls. For example, our Pringy, France manufacturing site was the first globally to fully automate inspections for syringes filled with gel-based injectables. The technology has existed for years to inspect liquids, but we advanced it to enhance quality controls and increase productivity in the manufacturing of our JUVEDERM collection of fillers.