Insider State of the Industry: Ukraine, supply chains, and CDMO gains

Another quarter, another industry snapshot. We sat down with experts at BPI West to discuss the current state of biomanufacturing.

Our State of the Industry series began last year to allow reflection on quarterly trends within the bioprocess and manufacturing sector.

Clearly the pandemic has driven much of the conversation, but in a sign of COVID’s decline this quarter’s panel was held not on Zoom, Teams, or Skype but in a real face-to-face setting: BPI West in San Diego.

From left to right: Dan Stanton, Frank Orlowski, Steven Lee, Joe Scott

Our panellists – Frank Orlowski, director of Business Development, Latham Biopharm Group; Steven Lee, CEO, Eden Biologics; Joe Scott, VP Supply Chain Operations, Avid Bioservices – sat down in the flesh and unmasked with BioProcess Insider editor Dan Stanton to discuss how macro events are causing ripples in our industry.

Top of the bill was the increasingly depressing situation in Ukraine. The panel discussed how pharma initially responded from a humanitarian point of view, but also spoke of how supply chains and clinical trials could be affected from a deepening conflict.

This led us neatly on to discussing the ongoing supply issues deemed a hangover from COVID. Companies are clearly still suffering but novel approaches and innovation are plastering over the cracks.

Finally, the ever-evolving contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) landscape was discussed. With CDMOs merging, Big Pharma and other ‘new’ entrants arriving, and established players jumping into the cell and gene therapy space – including Eden and Avid, both of whom were represented on the panel – the sector is lightyears away from where it was pre-pandemic, never mind a decade ago.

To watch the full panel, click below. If you are interested in participating in our next State of the Industry debate or any of our future panel discussions then contact [email protected] for more information.