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World Pharmaceutical Frontiers 2022 Vol. 2


Editorial Editor Peter Littlejohns peter.littlejohns@progressivemediainternational.com Sub-editor Tal Abdulrazaq Production manager Dave Stanford Group art director Henrik Williams Designer Martin Faulkner Head of content Jake Sharp


Commercial Sales manager Nathan Park


nathan.park@progressivemediainternational.com Client services executive Derek Deschamps Managing director William Crocker


World Pharmaceutical Frontiers is published by Progressive Media International.


Registered in England No. 06212740. www.worldpharmaceuticals.net


ISSN 1742-3791 © 2021


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B


reakthrough medical technologies often come with a hefty price tag, but once competition enters the market and economies of scale kick in, accessibility soon follows. But what about when the product is harvested from patients themselves and must go through a complex process of gene editing and cell growth that requires an expert pair of eyes and hands? That’s the situation we find ourselves in today with many of the most promising treatments for rare diseases, and especially for cancers, out of reach for many due to their cost.


CAR-T cells are perhaps the most obvious example given their impact on immunotherapy, with treatment using them often running into hundreds of thousands of dollars. At the furthest end of the financial scale, the cost of cell and gene therapies (CGTs) can be more than $1m. There are teams all over the world working on ways to bring this cost down, but the most promising appears to be implementing automation throughout the manufacturing process, and that’s what our cover story is focused on this issue. On page 40, Michele Brailsford speaks to an academic at University College London, an institution at the forefront of commercialising CGTs, to find out how automation could be applied soon to bring the cost of treatments down. Accessibility isn’t always about cost; sometimes it’s to do with complexity and ease-of-use. This is especially true when we’re talking about combination products used by patients to treat long-term conditions. On page 10, Debbie Orme speaks to an expert in the field who has both witnessed and helped shape the trend towards patient-centric design in the field of injectables. Sometimes, the best way to ensure medication adherence is to avoid injectables altogether. It’s easier said than done of course, and on page 33, Mae Losasso speaks to a pharmaceutical scientist at King’s College London to learn what ingredients go into oral solid dosage forms, and why it’s not always possible to turn parenterally administered drugs into pills to make life easier for patients. Other topics covered in this issue include the impact of pharmaceutical supply chains on climate change, how world affairs are currently impacting drug supply and the most important steps in a safe and effective fill/finish process.


UK £58 EU €92 US $119 RoW $120 UK £93 EU €144 US $190 RoW $191


Peter Littlejohns, editor


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