Single-use bioprocessing technology refers to disposable equipment and accessories for manufacturing biopharmaceutical products.
The central idea behind disposable bioprocessing technology is decreasing the costs associated with complicated steps like cleaning, sterilization, and maintenance of steel-based bioreactor systems. This technology is used in a broad range of biopharmaceutical applications such as filtration, mixing, purification, upstream expression, storage, and separations.
Technavio analysts have identified key trends that are expected to contribute to a 34.38% CAGR in the global single-use bioprocessing systems market from 2014-2019.
Increase in Mergers and Acquisitions
Many vendors are acquiring small and medium-sized companies to enter the market. For example, in February 2015, Thermo Fisher Scientific increased its product portfolio of bioprocessing systems by acquiring Advanced Scientifics. In April 2014, Sartorius acquired a majority stake in US startup AllPure Technologies. Similarly, in February 2014, Pall Corp. acquired ATMI Life Sciences to strengthen its single-use bioprocessing systems. Saint-Gobain acquired Applied Bioprocess Containers in 2013, to venture into the single-use bioprocessing systems technology, and in 2012 Parker Hannifin Corp. acquired SciLog, a provider of unique and proprietary single-use technologies and systems for the biopharmaceutical market.
These acquisitions allow organizations to easily access untapped markets, which will boost the global single-use bioprocessing systems market.
Increasing Flexibility in Biopharmaceutical Production
Manufacturing biopharmaceutical products is a complicated, inflexible process.
One of the biggest issues is that production units consume a lot of space, and the inflexibility of conventional steel tank inbuilt systems has diminished their usefulness, both in response to volume demand and in meeting changing market conditions.
To overcome this, recent technical advancements have made single-use bioprocessing systems more flexible. For example, EMD Millipore develops Mobius bioreactors of different volumes that provide flexibility by configuring software, hardware, and single-use assemblies for use in suspension and adherent cell culture applications.
Increasing Demand for Biopharmaceuticals
According to the WHO, the number of people aged 60 and over will reach 2 billion by 2050. By 2030, more than 22% of the world’s population will be over 65. This age group is more prone to diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, musculoskeletal and cardiovascular diseases, chronic kidney diseases, strokes, and cancer. Therefore, a higher aging population increases the prevalence of these illnesses, which increases the demand for biopharmaceuticals among patients.
Most biopharmaceuticals require bioprocessing systems for large-scale production, which in turn necessitates the use of bioprocessing systems with better process efficiency and throughput.
Increase in Growth of CROs and CMOs in Biopharmaceuticals Industry
Many global pharmaceutical companies are facing patent expirations and pricing pressure. As a result, these companies are on the lookout for cost-containment measures. For instance, drug manufacturing in the APAC region and Latin American countries is less expensive than it is in developed countries, which has encouraged multinational businesses to outsource their work.
The outsourcing activities include all stages of the biomanufacturing process, including the purification of biopharmaceuticals and other biochemical entities undertaken by contract research organizations (CROs) and contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs). As a result, the APAC region is now emerging as the fastest growing CMO and CRO market. Many multinational companies and local companies have started to market single-use bioprocessing systems to CROs and CMOs, and the growth of these organizations is expected to boost the growth of the market during the forecast period.
Improved Cost Management of Bioprocessing
Conventional bioprocessing involves the use of steel-based bioreactors and sub-components for manufacturing biologics and bioproducts. Most of these bioreactors require sterilization and associated units for manufacturing contamination-free bio products, which increases the overall investment costs for manufacturers.
Single-use bioprocessing systems, on the other hand, eliminate the need for sterilization, thereby limiting the need for additional investment. The advantage of single-use technology in pilot plants and full-scale manufacturing is the direct savings in terms of low costs in labor and materials. The direct cost of labor for assembly, cleaning, sterilization SIP disassembly, and the cost of the water and chemicals are low through single-use systems (SUS) when compared to the equivalent stainless steel hardware systems.
Less Environmental Impact
The major difference between single-use operations and traditional stainless operations is in the sanitization and cleaning process. Since single-use systems are disposable, they don’t require the same kind of sanitization, and the material used to manufacture these systems can be easily disposed of or incinerated after use.
While opting for disposable systems might seem less environmentally friendly at first, the transition from conventional equipment to a single-use system actually results in less energy demand and water use.
It has been reported that a single-use system uses about 50% less energy than conventional stainless steel, which will be a major driver for adoption of these systems through the forecast period.
