Market Trends of Bio-Pharma Logistics Industry
Temperature-sensitive Pharmaceutical Drugs Sales Driving the Cold Chain Logistics
Worldwide, spending on biopharma cold chain logistics is rising steadily with the increase in sales of temperature-sensitive pharmaceutical drugs. The rising investments in the expansion of the biopharmaceutical industry and the government support for the industry are fuelling the demand. Several medicines are temperature sensitive and need special attention during transportation. Moreover, developing mobile applications that can notify temperature excursions and allow monitoring of the temperature in real time is fuelling growth.
With the launch of its Los Angeles hub, Tower Cold Chain confirms it is on track to double the size of its global network during 2022. Each new hub helps pharmaceutical businesses and airlines access Tower's robust, reliable, and reusable temperature-controlled containers. The latest hub, located 18 miles from LAX International Airport, gives Tower its first location on the West Coast of America, a key region in terms of access across the Pacific and into South America.
According to data from the Medical Logistics Branch of the China Federation of Things, the cold vaccine chain market was about CNY 48.14 billion (USD 7 billion) in 2021, a year-on-year increase of 23.3%. In recent years, the country invested a lot of resources to strengthen the construction of cold vaccine chains and traceability systems nationwide.
As the third-largest pharmaceutical industry, India serves more than half the global demand for pharmaceuticals and vaccines, around 40% of calls for generic medicines in the US, and one-fourth of the total demand for drugs in the UK. The industry is predicted to add an extra 1.5 to 2 lakh pallet capacity for frozen and chilled commodities in the coming years. Although the Indian government permitted 100% FDI in pharma, the parched cold chain sector needs a boost in infrastructure to support the rampant industry growth.
Increase in Sales of Biotech Drugs Driving the Market
Recently, many pharmaceutical industries adopted biotech because of the low cost of biotech products. After the COVID-19 outbreak, infectious diseases are driving the biotech/pharma market, especially the biotech sector. Companies are focused on new drug development so they can be prepared for any unexpected outbreak.
The drug and biotech sector bounced back in the second half of 2022 from a rather weak performance in the first half. An uptick in M&A deals, strong earnings performance, new drug approvals, a favorable regulatory environment, and pipeline successes helped the second-half turnaround. Drug/biotech companies are also likely to see significant advances in innovation in 2023.
India is among the top 12 destinations for biotechnology worldwide. The number of biotech startup registrations surged nationwide in 2021, with around 1,128 new startups registered, the highest in a single year since 2015. Estimates put the total number of biotechnology startups at 5,365 as of 2021. The number of startups is expected to touch 10,000 by 2024. India includes 665 FDA-approved plants in the US, 44% of the global abbreviated new drug applications (ANDA), and more than 1,400 manufacturing plants, which comply with WHO's requirements. The country is also the world's third-largest producer of recombinant Hepatitis B vaccine.
Expanding generic drug competition and declining demand for COVID-19 vaccines and therapies reduced the aggregate market capitalization of the top 20 biopharmaceutical companies by 9.1%. According to an industry report, the total value was USD 3.45 trillion in Q2 2022, dropping to USD 3.14 trillion in Q3 2022.
