Complexity of APIs Drive OSD Contract Manufacturing Demand

For many years, the rising complexity of APIs has led to the development of a sea of novel formulations that help in the efficient delivery of drugs to the intended site where action needs to happen. Nevertheless, the demand when it comes to oral solid dosage forms, which include tablets as well as capsules, is unmatched.

As a matter of fact, more than two-thirds of the overall drugs prescribed across the world are dispensed in the form of oral solids. Besides being cost-effective as well as relatively more balanced vis-à-vis their large-molecule counterparts, these small molecules that happen to be orally administered are patient-centric and hence go on to play a pivotal role when it comes to fixing the adherence problem of drugs.

Since oral solid drug demand is rising, the creation of modified oral dosage formulations that can go on to improve the API solubility as well as elevate the bioavailability can provide drug developers with a massive opportunity to standout in a market that is not only competitive but mature as well.

That said, the manufacturing of specialised doses that are solid, especially the ones that contain highly potent APIs, with the help of early development formulations so as to scale up, happens to be a complex process that requires a multi-disciplinary set of expertise.

Therefore, the drug developers are more and more relying on the contract service providers having specialised equipment as well as a trained workforce so as to navigate the routine and technical operations concerning challenges, which include the ones that are associated with formulations that happen to be complex, that have strict regulatory requirements, and also have multiple suppliers.

Taking into account the immense popularity of oral dosage forms, particularly in the paediatric and geriatric populations, it is believed that the demand for traditional and modified formulations is most probably going to drive commendable growth in the contract manufacturing market in the years to come.

FAQs

Q- What happens to be the global market size when it comes to oral solid dosage manufacturing market?

• Oral solid contract manufacturing market size is expected to be more than US$30 billion.

Q- Who are the top players as far as the oral solid dosage contract manufacturing market is concerned?

• Almost 300 companies at present are engaged in offering oral solid dosage contract manufacturing across the world. Some of the top players who are engaged in the domain are Almac, Cambrex, Catalent, Aenova, Alcami, CMIC, Delpharm, Madras Pharmaceuticals, Recipharm, Hetero Drugs, Contract Pharmacal, and Micro Labs.

Q- List the number of providers that have the potential to take care of oral solid therapies that are based on highly potent APIs?

• More than 40% of the contract service providers who are engaged in this domain claim to have the required capabilities in order to safely handle these highly potent oral drugs.

Q- What are the elements that drive the oral solid dosage contact manufacturing segment?

• The elements that are driving the oral solid dosage contract manufacturing marketplace include the emergence of pharmaceutical companies that happen to be virtual as well as the increase in demand when it comes to novel oral solid formulations like taste-masked, paediatric/geriatric, control release, and abuse-deterrent products that enhance patient compliance.

Q- Which regions of the world have the highest market share when it comes to oral solid dosage contract manufacturing market?

• North America goes on to capture the lion’s share of the market, with 60%, followed by Europe.

Q- Which are the leading market segments as far as the oral solid dosage contract manufacturing market is concerned?

• At present, the OSD contract manufacturing market is taken over completely by tablet and capsule formulations. This can be linked to numerous advantages that come along with these dosage forms, such as portability, swallowing ease, medical adherence, and exceptional availability. Moreover, in terms of company size, players who happen to be established are more likely to capture beyond 50% of the present as well as the future market because of their enhanced capacities as well as massive production capabilities.

Q- In the oral solid dosage contract manufacturing market, what is the current rate of growth- CAGR?

• OSD contract manufacturing segment size is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 6% in the years to come.

Q- Throw some light on the upcoming trends in the oral solid dosage contract manufacturing market?

• The market is currently seeing the adoption of industry 4.0 concepts like PAT as well as QbT. In addition to this, numerous service providers are going ahead with establishing as well as expanding their continuous manufacturing lines when it comes to the production of oral solids, therefore decreasing the manufacturing cost by up to 30%, manpower by 50–70%, and power consumption by 40%.

 Q- Current set of initiatives that have been rolled out by major pharma players that are engaged in the oral solid dosage contract manufacturing market?

• So as to tap the profitable opportunity in this segment, big pharma players have taken up several initiatives, such as strengthening the product portfolio, establishing agreements, and making acquisitions and investments. For example, in August last year, Catalent went on to acquire Metrics Contract Services for US $475 million in order to expand its high-potency oral solid dosage manufacturing capacities.