Over the past several years, the treatments being manufactured and sold have continued to evolve. Today, there’s more therapeutic competition and a significant number of personalized or targeted products for common conditions and those that have historically been more difficult to treat. This puts an even brighter spotlight on the biopharmaceutical space.
Learn more about the realities behind this trend and how biopharmaceuticals will continue to impact life science companies and patients.
What is the current biopharma landscape?
Since the introduction of this concept in 1982, biopharmaceutical development has revolutionized the treatment of diseases. Now, you’ll find them being used in nearly every branch of medicine. As a result, there’s more and more demand for biopharma.
Biopharmaceutical market growth is a result of many factors. These include increasing consumer demand for better healthcare outcomes and improved patient experience, new regulations that drive greater collaboration between pharmaceutical manufacturers and healthcare providers, increased investment from venture capital firms into early-stage biotech companies, and mergers between large pharmaceutical companies.
What are the benefits of biopharmaceuticals?
Before we get into the benefits of biopharma, let’s first look into the difference between biopharmaceutical vs pharmaceutical. Biopharma products are developed from living cells. On the other hand, traditional pharmaceuticals are made using chemicals that are easier to handle than natural ingredients.
Since biopharmaceuticals are made from biological sources, they behave differently when compared to their traditional pharmaceutical counterparts. Let’s take a closer look at the specific benefits that come with the use of biopharmaceuticals.
Increased treatment effectiveness and life expectancy
The biopharmaceutical industry has been a central engine for developing new medical treatments and cures, lowering the effective price of better health for patients worldwide. This is especially true when we look at diseases that are difficult to treat and orphan diseases. Treatments for many of these ailments are more accessible now than ever.
Fewer side effects
Biopharmaceuticals typically present fewer side effects because of their specificity. Conventional drugs affect multiple systems. This means they can impact body parts that don’t need treatment and cause additional unwanted side effects. Since biopharma treatments address problems individually, there’s a reduction in that risk.
Potential for more customized treatments
The rise in biopharmaceuticals comes at a time when there is also an increased demand for personalization in medicine. Now, technology is making it possible to gain more insight throughout the entire drug development process. This allows life science companies to ensure they can engage the right people faster and create more effective treatments.
What are common challenges biopharma companies face?
While biopharmaceuticals are growing in popularity, several different considerations come with this shift. Now, let’s take a look at some of the common challenges biopharmaceutical manufacturing companies face.
The complexity of the product
There are many factors that companies need to keep in mind when developing a new treatment of any kind. While it may seem that it would be easier to create something that comes from natural ingredients, that’s often not the case. Much work still needs to be done to ensure efficacy and understand interactions with other drugs.
The regulatory environment
To get FDA approval, a biopharmaceutical company must submit an application that gets reviewed by a panel of experts who determine whether or not it should be approved for use in humans.
Under the National Environmental Policy Act, the FDA also evaluates the environmental impacts of “major actions,” such as drug product approvals. Under these statutes, FDA is charged, among other things, with helping ensure that:
- Human and animal drugs are safe and effective
- There is a reasonable assurance that medical devices intended for human use are safe and effective
- Human biological products are safe, pure, and potent
Suppose the biopharmaceutical company is selling outside of the U.S. In that case, they will also need approval from regulatory bodies before being able to offer their drug product in the global biopharmaceutical market.
Skilled labor and supply chain issues
In research published in 2021 by The Financial Times, access to talent was identified as the primary weakness in the resilience of the global biopharma industry. The industry has also faced supply chain issues since the onset of the pandemic. Together, these two problems make it challenging to develop and distribute biopharmaceuticals.
How will biopharma and insights management influence product launches?
Biopharma companies realize they can use insights management to enhance product development and pharma marketing. The transition from a traditional R&D model to a data-driven approach is well underway, with many companies using tools such as machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) in their efforts to overcome pharma commercial challenges.
By analyzing this type of data, biopharmaceutical manufacturing companies can gain insights into how a drug works for or against specific conditions or diseases and then use these results to plan a successful drug launch strategy or develop new research studies.
The future of biopharmaceuticals
Since this trend shows no sign of slowing down, speed and agility are critical for companies to meet the demand for biopharmaceuticals. Want to know more about how to adapt? Discover additional information about biopharmaceuticals and the role of insights management platforms by reading additional content from our blog series.
