Bioprocessing Year In Review: 11 Key Trends Accelerated By COVID-19
By Ronald A. Rader and Eric S. Langer, BioPlan Associates, Inc.
Over the past 17 years we have identified a number of trends that are impacting bioprocessing and biopharmaceuticals manufacturing, the majority of which have promised positive outcomes. With the COVID-19 crisis, many of these ongoing trends have been accelerated.
Although it seems we may now be seeing the light at the end of the COVID tunnel, some of the effects of the pandemic on bioprocessing and vaccines manufacturing may result in permanent changes.
Major concerns, even pre-pandemic, were continued cost-cutting and often related mergers and acquisitions, but even this trend appears to be slowing. Staffing problems, on the other hand will only get worse, especially with rapid growth in foreign bioprocessing and new cellular and gene therapies-associated capacity.