The future of biologics

Biotherapeutics is the fastest-growing sector in the pharmaceutical industry, with total revenues reaching up to $163 billion. Its annual growth surpasses 8%, whereas conventional pharmaceuticals barely reach 4%.1 Dr. Gaurav Narang, a healthcare industry specialist for Hewlett Packard Enterprises, puts it this way: “The efficacy and safety of these products, in addition to an ability to treat previously untreatable diseases, is the single-largest influencing factor in the growth of this market.”

There are other factors which also contribute to this growth. Mr Kumaran Viswanathan, an independent expert on the pharmaceutical industry, notes that, “Technological advancements in multiple related fields have resulted in the creation of large libraries of plausible drug targets, as well as significant improvement in our understanding of diseases.” These advances have fuelled the growth in biotherapeutics. Another driver is the development of Monoclonal Antibodies (MABs) and human insulin: in 2012 four out of five top biotherapeutics made use of MABs.2

The future of biotherapeutic medicine