Good News for Arthitis Sufferers Poses Major Headache for BioPharma Supply Chain
The 66th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) in New Orleans is the venue for a spate of information purporting to show the benefits of biotech’s miracle treatments for infammatory diseases, especially of the joints. On the face of it, biotech looks set to deliver on its promises and investment...but do unforeseen difficulties lie ahead in the race to deliver healthy profits?
The ACR Annual Meeting is an interesting event both to catch up with developments in treating rheumatic disorders and to observe the rivalry between competing biotech and pharma companies, which sponsor the costly clinical trials.
There’s a lot at stake. Pharmaceutical development is a lengthy and time consuming process before a new product is granted licensing approval for marketing. With biologicals, such as novel monoclonal antibodies (MAbs), interleukin receptor proteins or TNF receptors, the production processes are far more complex, costly and time-consuming than for the conventional (chemical) pain-killers or anti-inflammatories.
Filling the supply side of the equation in an effort to meet projected demand for the new ’miracle’ treatments could create bottlenecks, driving up costs and push pricing to levels that could make it difficult for medical insurance companies and health service budgets to reimburse. Every cloud has a silver horizon, however. So who stands to benefit from the capacity crunch?
Keywords : Arthritis Monoclonal antibody Antibodies TFN receptor Interleukin receptor Biomanufacturing capacity shortfall Supply chain management Reimbursement
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