May
02
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Videos by biotechnow@bio.org (Biotechnology Industry Organization)
By Eric Langer, Managing Partner, BioPlan Associates, Inc.
Two-thirds Spending more for Improved Productivity
Almost two-thirds (64.2 percent) of biomanufacturers will increase their budgets for new technologies to improve efficiencies and costs for downstream production this year. Data from our newly released 9th Annual Report and Survey of Biopharmaceutical Manufacturers, include responses from 302 global biomanufacturers, and an additional 185 vendors to the industry. We find that budget increases this year are not just incremental changes: almost 1 in 10 will be making large increases (of 20 percent or more) in these areas, while a further 1 in 5 plan an increase of 10-20 percent.
Budget increases are not limited to technologies that can improve efficiencies and cut costs, though. Biomanufacturers are increasing spending on big ticket items, as well. This year we found that 15 percent of respondents are planning an increase of more than 20 percent in new facility construction. In addition, a clear sign of industry segment growth is that ‘New capital equipment’ is a focus of 12.3 percent, who are planning large increases, with a further 46% planning small to moderate increases. Compared with the past few years, these increases are substantial.
It is also encouraging to see that biomanufacturers are planning to increase their budgets for staffing-related causes. Roughly half of the 302 biomanufacturers surveyed forecast an increase in funding to hire new operations staff and new scientific staff.
Source: 9th Annual Report and Survey, Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing and Capacity, www.BioPlanAsociates.com, April 2012
In a sign that outsourcing growth is slowing, just one-quarter of biotherapeutic developers and CMOs said they would be increasing their funding for outsourced biopharmaceutical manufacturing. This year we also find that biomanufacturers are reserving their largest budget increases for new technologies for downstream (6.4 percent) and upstream production (6.0 percent), much the same as they were last year.
Vendors’ Increasing Budgets for Big Ticket Items
We separately measured 11 areas of budget changes among the 185 global vendors surveyed this year. Industry suppliers are also increasing their budgets in a number of key areas this year, according to our study. And these increases won’t be limited to smaller items, either: nearly half (44 percent) of vendors are planning to up their budgets for new capital equipment, including 6 percent who will be making large increases of 20% or more. This contrasts with just 11 percent planning any decrease in spending in this area, the majority of which are small decreases. Similarly, a third (33.3 percent) of vendors are forecasting greater dollars spent on new facility construction, including 8 percent making large increases.
This is a significant advance from previous years, when the economic downturn forced many suppliers to this industry to retrench and reduce spending. The increased budgets define a systemic optimism among the vendors to this industry that is likely a leading indicator of their expectations for long-term growth of their customers’, the biopharma manufacturers’, budgets.
Other indications are also signaling growth. Nearly half (45 percent) are boosting their marketing budgets, and over half (54.5 percent) will up their sales budgets. This may indicate short-term expectations for more rapid growth.
When shown as cumulative over the past three years, the budget increases (aside from new facilities construction, which has shown sluggish growth the past 3 years) have generally far outpaced the budget slashing that occurred during the economic downturn in 2009.
With budgets up across the board among both biopharma companies, and their vendors, and with increases showing in most all areas over the past 3 years, the industry seems to be on an optimistic trajectory.
References:
1. 9th Annual Report and Survey of Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing Capacity and Production: A Survey of Biotherapeutic Developers and Contract Manufacturing Organizations, BioPlan Associates, www.bioplanassociates.com
About the Author:
Eric S. Langer is president and managing partner at BioPlan Associates, Inc., a biotechnology and life sciences marketing research and publishing firm established in Rockville, MD in 1989. He is editor of numerous studies, including “Biopharmaceutical Technology in China,” “Advances in Large-scale Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing”, and many other industry reports. elanger@bioplanassociates.com 301-921-5979. www.bioplanassociates.com
Survey Methodology: The 2012 Ninth Annual Report and Survey of Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing Capacity and Production in the series of annual evaluations by BioPlan Associates, Inc. yields a composite view and trend analysis from 302 responsible individuals at biopharmaceutical manufacturers and contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs) in 29 countries. The methodology also encompassed an additional 185 direct suppliers of materials, services and equipment to this industry. This year’s survey covers such issues as: new product needs, facility budget changes, current capacity, future capacity constraints, expansions, use of disposables, trends and budgets in disposables, trends in downstream purification, quality management and control, hiring issues, and employment. The quantitative trend analysis provides details and comparisons of production by biotherapeutic developers and CMOs. It also evaluates trends over time, and assesses differences in the world’s major markets in the U.S. and Europe.
Apr
12
Posted under
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By the Life Sciences Foundation
“If a man were permitted to make all the ballads, he need not care who should make the laws of a nation.”
- Scottish politician Andrew Fletcher (1653-1716)
Why History Matters
Biotechnologists are in the tomorrow business. They strive to innovate, invent, and make progress. They must; survival depends on it. Biotechnologists are future-oriented.
Yet, biotechnologists are also steeped in history. They swim in the past, and strive constantly to remember it. They must; survival depends on it. Biotechnologists are history-oriented.
Dubious? Consider this. In order to innovate, bench scientists must review technical literatures – histories of discoveries. In order to protect intellectual properties, patent attorneys must reconstruct and document histories of inventions. In order to secure funding, manage crises, and devise effective strategies for the success of life science companies, biotech executives must draw on business lessons, skills, reputations, and networks of relationships acquired over time. History matters crucially to these people.
In order to understand the present of the biotech industry and to plan for its future, participants are obliged to consider its past. The same is true for the general public, the press, and policymakers. People can’t make good decisions about biotechnology if they don’t know its history.
The Mission of LSF
The Life Sciences Foundation (LSF) has been established to help people understand. LSF documents, preserves, and disseminates the history of the field – it tells the biotech story. The non-profit charity is headquartered in San Francisco. Regional chapters are in formation in Boston, San Diego, and other key centers of biotech research and development.
Industry leaders have recognized the pertinence and value of the project. Founding partners in LSF’s good work include Burrill & Company, Celgene, Eli Lilly & Co., Genentech, Genzyme, Merck, Millennium, Pfizer, Quintiles, and ThermoFisher. Serving on the organization’s Executive Board are G. Steven Burrill, CEO of Burrill & Company, Joshua Boger, former Chairman and CEO of Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Dennis Gillings, Chairman and CEO of Quintiles, John Lechleiter, Chairman and CEO of Eli Lilly & Co., Henri Termeer, former Chairman and CEO of Genzyme, and Arnold Thackray, LSF President and CEO. Dr. Phillip Sharp, Institute Professor at MIT, serves as the organization’s academic advisor.
By various means (web presence, publications, archives, educational outreach programs, exhibitions, conferences, etc.), LSF seeks to raise levels of scientific and technological literacy, and to inform the public about the social, cultural, political, and economic dimensions of bioscientific progress.
The foundation’s small staff of writers, researchers, archivists, and educators has launched a highly-acclaimed, content-rich website (www.biotechhistory.org). The site features digital archives, photo and video galleries, illustrated historical timelines, articles about technologies and companies, and interviews with industry veterans. LSF is also publishing a tri-annual magazine, rescuing historical artifacts and papers, collecting oral histories from biotech pioneers, and conducting research for a major book on the origins and development of the commercial biotechnology industry – the first definitive history of the field at large.
Making History
LSF operates on the premise that history is a cultural force – but only if preserved and published. It is an asset that must be deployed. So far, the biotech industry has not made good use of it. “See for yourself,” says Arnold Thackray, LSF President and CEO, “google ‘history of biotechnology.’ The results are fragmented, uneven, and rather paltry.” Thackray also points out that “If you don’t write your own history, somebody else will do it for you, and they may be hostile.”
LSF Advisory Board co-Chair Joshua Boger echoes these sentiments: “Biotechnology is one of the most important drivers of progress in our time, but people generally don’t know us. They know little about what we do. They don’t know the stories. We’re looking at huge deficits in public understanding.”
Bits and pieces of the biotech story have surfaced, and some are captivating – The Billion Dollar Molecule by Barry Werth, a book about Boger’s company, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, is a fine example. But due to an overall paucity of popularizing accounts, the science remains imposing to lay audiences, and those who have made important contributions to the field remain mostly anonymous.
Informing the Public – the Importance of Biotechnology
LSF is trying to help biotechnology enhance its public profile. Mark Jones, the foundation’s Director of Research, believes the life sciences have been neglected: “Ask people on the street who was responsible for their iPhone or iPad. They’ll tell you. Millions rushed to bookstores to purchase the Steve Jobs biography. Jobs was a fascinating character, and Apple makes wonderful products, but life scientists are trying to save lives, feed the world, and solve our pressing energy problems. There is plenty of compelling drama in biotech. We intend to put it on exhibition.”
Jones explains that a big part of LSF’s mission is to ‘humanize’ the biosciences. LSF intends to tell tales about people – scientists, inventors, entrepreneurs, managers, executives, and financiers – the men and women who work to advance scientific knowledge, generate technological innovations, secure material prosperity, and improve lives around the world.
These stories are full of color. They take place in laboratories and clinics, universities and research parks, pharmaceutical factories and chemical refineries, boardrooms and executive suites; on Sand Hill Road, Wall Street, Capitol Hill, and at the FDA; in the corn fields of Iowa, rice paddies in Asia, and African yam gardens; in the Gulf of Mexico, where genetically engineered microbes are cleaning up an oil spill, and the world’s oceans, where vast reserves of biodiversity are being mined for valuable goods. Biotech stories are set wherever processes of life have been used to transform and enhance the human condition.
Arnold Thackray emphasizes that the message is for students, teachers, scholars, journalists, and policymakers. “There is a valuable heritage here. The life sciences will shape the course of the 21st century. We need to preserve their history. We need to teach young people about the world in which they live.”
According to Thackray, the task is urgent; biotech industry is still young, but the founding generation is already passing away: “Records are being scattered, memories are fading, stories are disappearing. Once lost, they’re gone forever.”
How You Can Help LSF to Achieve its Mission
You will enable LSF to record history and increase public understanding of science and technology by:
- Spread the word that it is time to capture the rich heritage of biotechnology;
- Contact the foundation with information on archives, historical records and ancillary publications;
- Suggest candidates for the foundation’s oral history initiative (or develop a memoir of your own);
For more information visit the Life Sciences Foundation website. To sign up for the foundation’s newsletter or to contribute archival materials or ideas, email alicia@biotechhistory.org.
BIO President and CEO Jim Greenwood talks with Arnold Thackray, President and CEO of the Life Sciences Foundation (LSF), about how the life sciences will shape the course of the 21st century.
