The Future of BioPharma blog provides timely coverage of news that directly impacts the business strategies of the biotech, pharmaceutical and medical device industries. In addition to news coverage, the Future of BioPharma blog features live event coverage from IIR's Biopharmaceutical and Healthcare division.
With two approved and about 30 in clinical development, bispecific antibodies are at last moving into the therapeutic mainstream.
We sat down with Genetech Senior Director of Antibody Engineering Dr. Paul Carter for a brief look at where the field is going.
In this podcast interview for Inside Antibody Engineering,
Dr. Carter discusses:
• Choosing a format
• New applications
• Emerging routes of administration and more...
Listen to the podcast or download a transcript here!
Editor’s note: Dr. Paul Carter will co-chair a track on new technologies and applications for bispecific antibodies at the Antibody Engineering and Therapeutics Conference taking place December 7-10 in San Diego.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR/INTERVIEWER
Marc Dresner is sr. editor and special communication project lead with IBC Life Sciences. He is the former executive editor of Pharma Market Research Report, a publication for market research professionals specializing in pharmaceuticals and life sciences. He may be reached at mdresner@iirusa.com. Follow him @mdrezz.
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Chris Anderson Author The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More and Free: The Future of a Radical Price
Chris begins the presentation by demonstrating the end of the blockbuster. He issues this in with the N Sync No Strings Attached CD, which is the best selling CD of all time. It was the last real blockbuster in music. It hasn’t been updated in the last few years, but blockbuster albums have essentially fallen off a clip in the 2000s. The demand for music is not down, the record labels are having trouble. Music playing devices, concerts, and licensing is very high. It’s now a fragmented market. There are 10 million tracks on iTunes. We’re seeing a different music landscape, and music does not fit all, techno, pops, blues, and we all choose our distinctive taste.
Supply was confused with demand, this was one example. We accept what we’re given, until the 20th century market choices have expanded from 10 to 100 choices. Demand is shaped like a bell curve, try to find a middle ground to appeal to the most customers. The Long Tail curve actually fits it better.
Long tail graph as opposed to the long tail curve: Doesn’t have an average, it goes on forever We find that a few things are really popular, and many things are not as popular, but still appeal to a specific crowd.
The culture we grew up in was dominated by blockbuster products. This is what the retail channels want. Example: at Walmart, if two don’t sell a week, it falls off the shelves. The internet has changed business, it has infinite shelf space. The long tail has been extremely lengthened, and consumer can really find and choose what they want. With the Blockbuster industry of music, about 40% of the market was not seen.
Long tail rules: 1) If you lower the cost of creation and distribution, you can offer more products and variety. 2) “More Variety” means products are available to satisfy more minority tastes 3) There Is lots of room at the bottom for many different individualized tastes to be filled.
What does this mean for Pharma? -Blockbusters are now Niche Busters. One size doesn’t fit all, and while niches haven’t been economic to date, they can better fulfill the market. The Pharma market is going to have to follow suite. -Diagnostic boom of individualized patents. Companies are finding out the uniqueness of individuals. -Electronic Medical Records. These allow for better targeting and treatment -Informed/empowered patients – Informed can demand more specialized care. Patients can see more information, which empowers them, and can better characterize their individual needs.
Sometimes, we have to give something for free. Even though healthcare is expensive, DNA sequencing cost is decreasing in much the same why as computer chips have over the years. Free goods are not new to Pharma. It’s the patent work that is expensive to obtain, but producing the finished pill as a good costs significantly less. The cost of obtaining biology information is decreasing, so what will Pharma do to make up for the shifted revenue?
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Moderator: Mathias Romacker, Principal Business Analyst, Amgen Tomas Landh, PhD, Director, Strategy & Sourcing, Novo Nordisk A/S Simon Exell, Director, Life Cycle Management, Devices and Formulation, Merck Serono Gerhard Mayer, Director of Marketing and Life Cycle Management, Bayer Schering Jonathan Rigby, Co-Founder & Vice President, Business Development, Zogenix. inc.
Where is needle-free injection going? It will only be adopted if a need is satisfied, and the need must exist. Just like humans have evolved, so has technology. Needle technology has greatly evolved over the last few decades. They’re now more robust systems that can be filled and reused by the patients.
In a large market, many systems will be available. Do they co-exist or compete? The different technologies are addressing different medical needs. They’re demonstrating that they’re meeting patient requirements. Any company could provide many different ways to provide administration. Why? Not all patients are the same, many different patients throughout the world will be using the devices.
It is important that patients adhere to their medications. This is a big problem in the market. Poor outcomes from patients not taking their medicine as prescribed have a large impact. The drug delivery industry can help find a way so that patients find it easy to take their medication, and therefore a more adherent.
Most patients are not willing to pay more for a general delivery system, tradeoffs for less expensive products are a factor, and they expect that biotech generics will begin to appear.
Q: If “the traditional drug delivery model is dead” why should a company with a new needle free technology partner with big Pharma at all?
They should still partner with big Pharma, but also develop the ability to commercialize the product themselves. They develop products within technology. The technology has a capability, you should get an ROI on your technology. You should sell your high value products.
Q: Have needle based technologies peaked or are they advancing? Needle based systems will continue to invest. There are more proteins and products coming to the market that will make this necessary. Competitive environment is stimulating as a whole, so needle and needle-free technology will continue to expand and grow. There are more therapies coming along that could replace these therapies.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR/INTERVIEWER
