Pharmaceutical contract manufacturing facing growth slowdown: Report

New Delhi, Nov 26 (IANS) Contract manufacturing revenues in the pharmaceutical finished dose sector witnessed a significant slowdown over the past financial year, according to a report on Tuesday.

Pharmaceutical contract manufacturing is when a company hires a third-party to produce drugs for them.

The report by GlobalData, a data and analytics company, showed that challenging market conditions, driven by drug pricing pressures, regulatory shifts, and geopolitical tensions, have reshaped the landscape.

This offers both hurdles and opportunities for contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs) to adapt and innovate amidst global generic shortages, reveals the report. It showed that the slowdown marks a sharp contrast to the rapid growth seen in 2020-22.

“Many commercial dose manufacturers have experienced low growth, with difficult business conditions generated by drug pricing and reimbursement constraints, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, and geopolitical conflicts. Despite the ongoing challenges in the geopolitical landscape, inflation is declining, and biotech funding is showing signs of recovery, giving hope for higher growth in future years,” said Adam Bradbury, Pharma Analyst at GlobalData.

Global generic shortages have worsened over the past year, leaving patients without access to essential medications. Many governments are now intervening to prevent escalating shortages by stockpiling certain essential drugs, investing in domestic pharma manufacturing, or considering allowing price increases for generics to encourage their production.

CMOs with the capacity to make generics — including less technically innovative manufacturers — have an opportunity to help resolve these shortages and win business.

“Two major deals, by Catalent and Recipharm, are reshaping the dose CMO landscape. Novo Nordisk’s parent company is acquiring Catalent to improve Novo’s supply of GLP-1 receptor agonists, Ozempic and Wegovy,” Bradbury said. “Novo Nordisk will purchase three of Catalent’s fill-finish sites (Anagni, Italy; Bloomington, Indiana, US; and Brussels, Belgium) as part of the deal,” he added.

–IANS

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