Biopharmaceutical Manufacturers Are Economizing In Response To Industry Competition.BERKELEY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 29, 1996--The number of biopharmaceutical products entering clinical trials increased considerably in 1995, with over 150 therapeutics in Phase III Noun 1. phase III - a large clinical trial of a treatment or drug that in phase I and phase II has been shown to be efficacious with tolerable side effects; after successful conclusion of these clinical trials it will receive formal approval from the FDA trials by year-end (Genetic Engineering News, January 1996), and the market continues to grow! Increasing competition between biotech companies, aggressive marketing of generic drugs, and the growth of health maintenance organizations are putting pressure on manufacturers to reduce the cost of drugs. In response, many biomanufacturers are looking to decrease manufacturing costs by improving the efficiency of their manufacturing processes. Biomanufacturers were interviewed by the market research and consulting firm Noun 1. consulting firm - a firm of experts providing professional advice to an organization for a fee consulting company business firm, firm, house - the members of a business organization that owns or operates one or more establishments; "he worked for a , Technology Forecasters, Inc. for the article, Biotech Manufacturing Economies: Decreasing Costs and Increasing Yields, recently published in Genetic Engineering News (March 1996). Biomanufacturers must decide whether to invest some of their precious resources in developing efficient manufacturing processes, rather than using all their funds for establishing the clinical efficacy of new products. Rita Teutonico, Ph.D, biotechnology analyst at Technology Forecasters, says, "Biotech companies used to race to get their products to the marketplace first, without consideration for cost. In the changing healthcare environment, the emphasis on cost containment cost containment, n the features of a dental benefits program or of the administration of the program designed to reduce or eliminate certain charges to the plan. is forcing manufacturers to eliminate inefficient manufacturing processes in favor of streamlined bioprocess bi·o·proc·ess n. 1. A technique that produces a biological material, such as a genetically engineered microbial strain, for commercial use. 2. technologies. Biomanufacturers have to invest in developing efficient bioprocesses both for current products and those under development. This will enable them to produce therapeutics at competitive prices." To meet this growing demand for improved processing efficiency, equipment suppliers, from bioreactors to software, are developing new technologies to help manufacturers reduce costs. Packed-bed bioreactors have been designed to increase cell culture yields. Technologies to reduce the number of downstream unit operations Unit operations A structure of logic used for synthesizing and analyzing processing schemes in the chemical and allied industries, in which the basic underlying concept is that all processing schemes can be composed from and decomposed into a series of to get a pure enough product to meet GMP GMP (guanosine monophosphate): see guanine. standards help reduce costs. For example, using fluidized bed chromatographic chro·mat·o·graph n. An instrument that produces a chromatogram. tr.v. chro·mat·o·graphed, chro·mat·o·graph·ing, chro·mat·o·graphs To separate and analyze by chromatography. products allows processors to perform product capture directly on crude lysate. Improved filtration products also provide savings, such as using depth filters for clarification or tangential tan·gen·tial also tan·gen·tal adj. 1. Of, relating to, or moving along or in the direction of a tangent. 2. Merely touching or slightly connected. 3. flow filters to replace expensive affinity chromatography processes. Using new software available for determining the optimum filter for a specific application or for integrating separate operations into an automated process also can increase manufacturing efficiency and process yield. To keep up with the latest developments in the bioscience industry, contact Technology Forecasters, Inc. at 510/849-1995. CONTACT: Technology Forecasters Inc., Berkeley Rita Teutonico/Sandra Fox, 510/849-1995 |
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