Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1467950
24 BioPharm International May 2022 eBook www.biopharminternational.com Preparing for the Future: Expanding Capacity and Facilitating Multi-modalities CDMOs need to consistently demonstrate agility as demand increases for newly developed therapeutic modalities. T he COV ID-19 pandemic high l ighted t he potentia l of an array of moda lities w ithin t h e b i o p h a r m a c e u t i c a l i n d u s t r y. I n particular, the success of messenger R NA (mR NA)-ba sed COV I D -19 v acc i nes ha s encouraged biopharmaceutical companies to explore and utilize these technologies for other diseases and look to rapidly expand their capacity and capabilities in response to an upsurge in demand. At the end of 2019, the combined market capitalization of the five publicly listed companies focusing on mRNA platforms was $15 billion, and as of August 2021, that va lue of capita l izat ion reached more t ha n $30 0 bi l- l ion (1). T h is sig n i f ica nt boost in ma rket va luat ion ref lects the optimism that mRNA technology can deliver much more a nd go beyond t he c u r rent prophylact ic COVID-19 vaccines. Preparation for this new wave of technology brought new challenges. The continued growth of biologics pipe- lines magnif ied limitations in internal manufacturing capacity, driving drug developers to partner with contract development and manufacturing organizations (CDMOs) to enlarge the manufacturing network. CDMOs needed to expand capacities and facilities to serve the dynamic market changes. More robust technologies and JAMES PARK Partnerships for Outsourcing Manufacturing Maks_Lab - STOCK.ADOBE.COM JAMES PARK is executive vice-president and managing director of the Global Sales Center at Samsung Biologics.