Forecasted to reach $108 billion by 2023, the global pharmaceutical services outsourcing market is currently undergoing incredible levels of growth.
Organisations that are reaping the benefits include contract development and manufacturing organisations (CDMOs), contract research organisations (CROs), as well as strategic commercialisation partners that are helping companies ensure their products achieve their full market potential.
This expansion is the result of a number of key drivers. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic led to a greater need for expanded capacity across pharmaceutical companies as they sought to meet the demand for vaccines, as well as continue the production of their non-COVID projects.
Growth can also be attributed to the rise in the number of small emerging startups and scale-up biopharmaceutical companies bringing new levels of innovation to the industry. These companies are increasingly seeking support from strategic partners to help them launch their drug products.
But how can these emerging biotech companies work with their partners more effectively to ensure they maximise the value of their assets? Jay Janus, Senior Account Director at Inizio Biotech, explains the rise in strategic partnerships to offer greater support for emerging biotechs in overcoming challenges to thrive in the future pharma landscape.
Current Biotech Market Growth
Expected to reach $3.4 trillion by 2030, the global biopharmaceutical market is set to reach unprecedented levels of growth. Emerging biotechs are responsible for a considerable portion of this expansion. An increasing number of new products are now coming from these companies, with 33% of new drug approvals coming from emerging biotechs in the last few years.
High growth levels for emerging biotech companies come as a result of greater demand for more specialised treatments. Populations in many advanced and emerging economies are aging, meaning there is a greater need for specialised medicines to treat age-related illnesses. These illnesses include cancers, chronic, rare, and orphan diseases, and many emerging biotechs are striving to meet patient needs by bringing innovative new treatments to market.
Biotechs often have an edge over large pharma companies, as they have greater agility and ability to advance their therapies through trials to treat patients with often rare and complex diseases.
Emerging biotechs are in a strong position to advance these treatments due to their innate entrepreneurialism and dynamic company structures. Not only does this allow them to mobilise investment funds faster than larger companies, but they also have the flexibility to innovate at speed by focusing on one project at a time.
The promise of the biotechs’ innovations, combined with their dynamism in advancing them quickly, makes them more attractive to venture capital companies.
In fact, venture capital companies invested in 3,100 biotech startups in 2021, and biotech companies raised over $34 billion. This is more than double the investment secured by biotechs in 2020, highlighting how keen investors are to support these innovators in their journey to market.
