Articles by Eric Langer

1. Bioprocessing Hiring And Capacity Crunch On The Horizon 5/21/2020

   With a very healthy R&D pipeline of cell and gene therapies, we can expect multiple blockbuster products and various “orphan” niche products to be launched annually in coming years. As a result, the industry is heading for a capacity crunch.

2. A Biopharma Year In Review — And A Look Ahead To 2020 12/16/2019

   The industry has shown surprising resilience and consistency, emerging relatively unscathed from the recession at the beginning of the past decade. Capacity and expansion were relatively unaffected and continue to draw investors seeking healthy returns and a recession-resistant risk profile.

3. Bioprocessing Trends To Watch In 2018 12/6/2017

   The current situation in biopharma is exciting, with new technologies, biosimilars, cellular and gene therapies, and opportunities in emerging markets.  And these innovative platforms are going to continue to need improved manufacturing technologies in the future.

4. Biosimilars Paving The Way For Cost-Effective Bioprocessing 8/23/2017

   As biosimilars finally move into mainstream commerce in the world’s major (bio)pharmaceutical markets, they are bringing with them some side benefits. Sponsors frequently focus resources on production technologies that generate higher productivity and yields. Some of these cutting-edge technologies are applicable to mainstream pipeline biologics, so future biopharmaceuticals will benefit from this push for efficiency.

5. 2017 Biopharmaceutical Trends — Opportunities For The New Year 12/20/2016

   Although change is constant, it generally comes very slowly to the highly regulated biopharma industry. Bringing a biologic to market can be a decades-long process, so tracking trends needs to take a long view. Based on decades of analysis, and findings from our 13th Annual Report of Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing, this article will outline some of the key factors affecting the industry today.

6. Continuous Bioprocessing Overtakes Single-Use On List Of Top Technology Trends 10/10/2016

   The desire for innovation in the biopharmaceutical manufacturing industry continues unabated, as companies ramp up their spending on new technologies to improve efficiencies in both upstream and downstream bioprocessing. And while innovation in this industry can be slow to come, the past decade has seen the emergence of several new innovative trends, ranging from the proliferation of single-use devices to growing demand for continuous bioprocessing and modular facilities, according to BioPlan Associates’ 13th Annual Report and Survey of Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing Capacity and Production.

7. 4 Key Trends In Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing In 2016 3/16/2016

   One of the most important trends to emerge from preliminary results of this year’s survey is the increased attention paid to continuous bioprocessing. Integrated, broad up- and downstream technologies remain to be developed and commercialized. Despite this lack of viable options, there is a groundswell of enthusiasm for the concept.

8. Regulatory Concerns For Facilities Of The Future: Does Flexibility Come With A Cost? 12/22/2015

   Trends in biomanufacturing follow a slow cycle, partly due to the regulated nature of the industry and the substantial costs and risks that introducing a change in the process can bring. But that ignores the benefits that changes in bioprocessing over the past 10 years have brought, from better expression systems, to new modular and flexible facilities, sensors, and control systems for downstream operations.

9. Single-Use Standardization: Is It Holding Back The Biopharma Industry? 6/1/2015

   The data from BioPlan Associates’ 12th Annual Report and Survey of Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing Capacity and Production speaks to the industry’s ongoing desires for standardization in single-use devices. As usage of these disposable devices increases, the gap between the importance of standardization and end-users’ satisfaction with their supplier’s standardization efforts has steadily been worsening. 

10. Single-Use Budgets In 2013: Biotech Industry Council Indicates Industry Will Expand Spending On Key Products 1/18/2013

    Disposable products continue to be a hot topic in biomanufacturing, as they increasingly penetrate clinical- and commercial-stage manufacturing and are sought after for their process efficiencies. In fact, when we asked the 450 global subject matter experts and senior participants on our Biotechnology Industry Council™ to identify the critical trends in bioprocessing for 2013, 22% cited aspects associated with implementation of single-use system integration.  These ranked narrowly behind need for downstream processing optimization, and analytical methods development (each at 24%). By Eric Langer, president and managing partner, BioPlan Associates, Inc.