The key role of the pharmaceutical industry is anticipating the most need drugs in the future.

Biosimilars

Biosimilars and biosuperiors are slowly becoming lower tech industries as process chemists figure out how to reverse engineer those processes. As biotechnology becomes mainstream, advanced manufacturing will shift to drugs like cellular therapies and bionanotechnology or diagnostics. We’re seeing the first wave of these technologies now.

Diagnostics

As our understanding of diseases approaches a molecular level, it allows for the accumulation of biomarker data which can then be used to guide future drug discovery and clinical trial design. Using this and other genetic information, drugs and treatments can be prescribed not only on the organ where the disease was found, but tailored to specific genetic errors found within the cells. This however, is only the tip of the iceberg. Parallel to the work being done inside health facilities, new avenues for diagnostics are being developed elsewhere. Diagnostics testing traditionally has been confined to testing performed directly at the laboratory. In the future, a range of novel technologies will all incorporate data from devices such as smartphones and smartwatches, allowing more individuals to routinely monitor their own health.

Cellular and Gene Therapies

Cell and gene therapy offers an almost unlimited source of innovation. These therapies offer personalization and show potential relevance across multiple conditions. Across most of the conditions being tested, competition is low despite an increasing amount of therapeutic potential and advanced maturity. In the coming year, the cell and gene therapy space will be booming with extensive evaluations of multiple diseases, formats, and technologies. As this space matures and is bolstered with even more scientific evidence, we can anticipate a more narrowed focus of R&D efforts which will enable the maturation of these therapies.