We are two years into dealing with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and business is booming in the pharmaceutical contract services sector. Positive takeaways over the last year, according to a panel of CPhI experts, include the adaptability of private sector companies, increased global collaborations and the ability of governments to implement policies to meet public health challenges. Featured in this issue on page 44 is a shortened summary of the main findings of the recent CPhI USA Report, which provides an overview of near-term priorities, medium-term capacity constraints and longer-term shifts underway in the U.S. pharma market supply chain.

The experts say in the article that we are now entering a ‘golden era’ for U.S. pharma and manufacturing where supply side trends have combined with an inflection point for new technologies and continuous manufacturing.

“Alongside this, biologics and cell and gene manufacturing are potentially entering a hugely profitable period, but one where greater capacity will be needed,” the experts say. “In fact, with these new approaches now proliferating, the U.S. is extremely well placed for surging growth as it continues to act as the global center of pharma innovation.”

The pharmaceutical contract services sector also continues to attract the interest of the investment community—a sure indicator of the industry’s positive health. On page 38 Kevin Bottomley from Results Healthcare lays out the reasons why M&A in the pharmaceutical CDMO and CRO sectors is booming and why this will continue. Basically, the Covid-19 pandemic has enhanced the public perception of this industry and investors have followed.

“In the CDMO sector deal activity in the first half of 2021 has been incredibly strong,” says Bottomley. “Forty-eight deals were completed in the first half of the year with the expectation that momentum will continue for the remainder of 2021, compared with an average of 50 deals per year for the period 2017-2020.”

However, despite all the positive news, attention has also been drawn to issues within pharma that have surfaced due to the Covid-19 pandemic. These issues revolve mostly around how and where drugs are manufactured and how secure supply chains are in a time of crisis.

It is generally agreed that the COVID-19 pandemic marks a historical point in the understanding of the risks associated with the supply of medicines, according to CPhI’s experts, however, they ask, will it fuel efforts to establish local supplies of chemicals and APIs as a matter of national security?

“In the last 12 months,” they say, “pharmaceutical companies have become acutely aware of their dependency on increasingly complex supply chains that span several global locations. As a result, the pandemic has finally convinced all stakeholders to take note of the weaknesses and build more resilience into their supply chains in the future.”

Also featured in this issue are articles on R&D Outsourcing Trends (28); Smart Manufacturing Technology (40); a CEO Spotlight (48) with Minzhang Chen of WuXi AppTec & STA; and a preview of CPhI Worldwide (56) scheduled for Nov. 9-11 in Milan, Italy.

Hope you enjoy the issue!

Tim Wright, Editor
[email protected]