The Future of Cancer Drug Manufacturing: Trends to Watch

According to recent statistics, there’s a vast and increasing amount of money being put into research and development for cancer drugs, almost over $50 billion each year. Due to this more and more cancer treatments are being developed in comparison to the previous years.

As of now, nearly 40% of all new medical treatments researched are for cancer.

This marks a strong need for cancer drug manufacturing companies to meet the growing need to find new cancer treatments. Read on further to learn more about the recent trends that are shaping the future of cancer drug manufacturing.

Introduction of Novel Cancer Treatment Modalities

Leaving behind the traditional medical treatments such as surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation, the latest trends in treatments such as targeted therapies, immunotherapies, gene therapies, and more have now come with the aim of improving effectiveness, reducing side effects, and offering new opportunities for cancer treatments. Now, almost 40% of the research money is focused on immune-oncology (IO) therapies for new cancer treatments.

Changing the Way Clinical Trials are Conducted

More than 30% of clinical trials for new cancer drugs are for early-stage cancer (Phase I and Phase II), which has, therefore, changed the way CDMO manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies are developing the drugs. Now, oncology pharmaceutical companies are likely to implement trials that are more adaptive trial methods that can quickly enter the market and also develop innovative therapeutic solutions. Therefore, the focus is on rapidly testing and developing new cancer treatments.

Also Read: How Oncology Drug Manufacturers are Shaping Innovations in Cancer Treatment

Continuous Data Monitoring and Big Data

Due to the huge increment in healthcare data, continuous data monitoring is compulsory. About 90% of the data generated in the past 2 years is from clinical trials, electronic health records, genomics, and patient-reported results. This data is presently used for making crucial and informed drug development decisions ultimately improving patient outcomes.

The collected data can then be used for future treatments:

Personalised Medicine: By analysing and studying genomic data, businesses can develop personalised and patient-centric medical treatment plans catering to the genetic profile of individual patients, increasing efficacy and reducing side effects.
Predictive Analytics: Using machine learning algorithms, companies can now predict how patients respond to treatments, helping in the planning and designing of more effective clinical trials and decreasing the time and cost that usually come along and are involved with bringing new drugs into the market.
Real-time Monitoring: Continuous data monitoring allows for real-time tracking of patient health for timely interventions and adjustments to treatment plans, which can significantly improve patient outcomes.
Drug Repurposing: By mining existing data, companies can recognize new uses for existing drugs, accelerating and improving the development of treatments for different types of cancer without the need for multiple new trials.

Treatments Focused on Patient-Centric

Future treatments are focused on how patients respond and experience the treatment. This has led to patient-centric treatment through personalization making it easier for them to take part in clinical trials. At present, 3-5% of cancer patients are able to participate in trials therefore, oncology pharmaceutical companies are now ensuring that drug development caters well to the needs of patients.

Adopting Advanced Technologies

Now, advanced technologies like continuous manufacturing and process intensification have led to enhanced production efficiencies and scalability. These technologies are now lowering costs and improving turnaround times, especially for novel treatments. That has therefore made it possible for pharmaceutical contract manufacturing companies to meet the rising need and meet market demands efficiently.

Also Read: Cutting-Edge Oncology Drugs: How Manufacturers are Shaping the Future of Cancer Treatment

Moving towards Sustainability

Cancer drug manufacturing companies are now more focused on creating drugs that are in alignment with the environment. They are more centred on products that ensure sustainability is maintained through manufacturing practices that minimise environmental impact, like waste reduction and energy efficiency. Green manufacturing methods not only help meet regulatory requirements but they are also aligned with consumer expectations for environmentally responsible products.