As pharmaceutical companies intensify their product development in biologics, their supply requirements increase as well. The DCAT Week ’17 education program, Biomanufacturing 2027: Capacity, Investment, and Technology, gains insight from Pfizer, AstraZeneca, and Kite Pharma on the near-term and future direction of biomanufacturing. 

Market overview
Biologics’ share in the development and commercial portfolios of pharmaceutical companies is increasing, but to what extent, and which drugs are the most promising? That question will be addressed in an market overview in the DCAT Week ’17 education program, Biomanufacturing 2027: Capacity, Investment, and Technology, by Susan Dexter, Managing Director, Latham BioPharm Group, who will provide the latest developments of the biologics market. The presentation will examine current and projected product performance, including global growth rates with market estimates by molecular type and geography and provide a review of the top-selling biologics and pipeline candidates for innovator drugs and biosimilars.

Biomanufacturing strategies
With increased product development in biologics, pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies and suppliers face crucial questions in their biomanufacturing strategies for drug substances. Several fundamental questions emerge:

• Build in-house capacity or use external manufacturing?
• Single-use or stainless steel bioreactors?
• How to manage capacity and technology for large-volume versus niche products?
• Can we meet goals in production economics while still assuring supply?
• Will our biomanufacturing strategy of today meet our demands of tomorrow?

These questions will be addressed by leading biopharmaceutical executives at the DCAT Week ’17 education program, Biomanufacturing 2027: Capacity, Investment, and Technology.

Biomanufacturing 2027: A Vision for the Future:  Will the biomanufacturing systems of today suit the needs of the future? In the pharmaceutical industry, 10 years is a “short” future due to the length of time required to bring a product from discovery to commercialization. Multiple years are needed to build and validate a new manufacturing facility, and more than 20 years is needed to fully depreciate a drug substance biomanufacturing site.Roberto Silveira, Vice President, Biomanufacturing Sciences Group, Pfizer, shares his perspective on biomanufacturing of today and of the future in terms of technology, scale, facility type, and equipment.

Biomanufacturing Investment: The Hows, Whys, and Whats: Biopharmaceutical companies face crucial issues in managing supply for biologics, such as whether to build in-house capacity or use external partners, what type of capacity to invest in, and what technology or equipment to use. Stephen Hill, Vice President & General Manager, AstraZeneca, will offer the decision criteria and evaluations made by the company in meeting near-term supply needs.

Biomanufacturing for Niche Products.  Emerging pharmaceuticals, such as chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR T) therapies, offer promise for delivering targeted therapies in keeping with the promise of personalized medicines, but do the production economics work and how does biomanufacturing for these niche products differ from conventional biomanufacturing? Tim Moore, Executive Vice President, Technical Operations, Kite Pharma, will provide perspective using the experience gained from the company’s recently opened manufacturing facility for CAR T therapies.

Further information, including how to register, may be found here.