Delivering biotherapeutics – technical opportunities and strategic trends

Abstract

As the list of biological drugs gaining regulatory approval grows, this paper examines how different technological approaches to delivering these drugs have evolved, and how business strategies have developed to meet the challenges. Companies can broadly be divided into three segments based on their technological approach: (1) developers of novel devices, (2) exploiters of new routes for drug administration and (3) reformulators of drugs. Case studies of companies in each segment are presented. The paper concludes by suggesting that further consolidation of the drug delivery sector is likely either between smaller companies or between large pharma and smaller entities. It is also argued that, as competition intensifies, drug delivery should no longer be regarded as a 'bolt-on', but integrated at an earlier stage of the product life cycle.