The global biologics market is growing. Valued at $461.74 billion in 2022, the market value is forecast to increase at a compound annual growth rate of 10.3% from 2023 to 20301. This is due to the promise biologics have shown as treatments for various chronic diseases such as hemophilia A and B, muscular dystrophy, various cancers, and rheumatoid arthritis.
To produce biologic drug substances (DS), the genetic material encoding the desired product is inserted into cells and cultured, with the product then isolated, purified and formulated. Harnessing living organisms is an effective method for constructing these complicated materials. Cellular machinery can help assemble numerous individual components efficiently and in the correct order, like forming a protein from amino acid building blocks. Additional modifications to the molecule often occur within the cell before it is isolated for further processing. Biologics are complex and host systems are an effective tool for synthesis, with techniques used to tailor and optimize the organism for the production of the desired DS.
