Overall, more than 500 executives in the survey were extremely optimistic in their outlook for pharma manufacturing both in the medium and longer term. In fact, more than 60% of executives anticipate Covid-19 will “greatly improve the business outlook in 2021 and beyond” – driven by expanding global demand for the existing Covid treatments and upscaling. Consequently, the contract services industry is predicted to grow even faster to meet demand.

Another issue the pandemic magnified was the global reliance on sourcing starting materials from suppliers in Asia, where 80% of materials are sourced from. However, the market is broadly ambivalent, with almost half of the respondents now stating it is realistic to "localize the manufacture of starting materials", verses more than a third that suggest that any potential mass move would be “too disruptive to a complex industry”, while a further 15% believe it would be “desirable”.

The industry is also seeing an expansion and modernization of finished dose manufacturing, with “filling and packaging systems” (24%) voted as the machinery type that pharma manufacturers will invest in the most in 2021. This is driven by drug product CMOs/CDMOs investing to become one-stop shops so they can aid innovators in simplifying and streamlining outsourcing, as well as the huge logistical challenge of filling billions of Covid-19 vaccines. Manufacturers are also expected to expand their capabilities and capacity for biologicals and capitalize on the impending wave of biologics approvals over the next few years, with large-scale bioreactors and fermenters (13%) expected to be popular in the upcoming year.

“Our industry survey shows that pharma, ingredients providers, manufacturers and the contract services pipeline have fared well through the last year, but structural changes in the industry and an expansion in the pipeline means demand is growing quickly,” commented Nicola Souden, Brand Manager at Informa.

The CPhI Pharma 2021 Report “Post Pandemic Legacy Trends" is available for download here.