The biologic drug market is growing at nearly twice the pace of the overall pharmaceutical market, driven by major therapeutic fields under research such as oncology and autoimmune diseases. The forecasted 20% annual increase in biologic active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) demand between 2011 and 2017 combined with the growth of biosimilars will generate a positive environment for the biologics contract manufacturing organization (CMO) market to grow at 9% per year over the same period.

Pharmaceutical companies are heavily betting on biologics to improve their R&D drug pipelines, as seen in 2011 with Sanofi acquiring Genzyme for an implied enterprise valuation (EV) of $20bn, which was 26.9 times earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) over the 12 months preceding the transaction. In 2009, Roche acquired the remaining stake in Genentech for an EV of $99bn, representing an EBITDA ratio for the transaction of 17.5 times. Other deals included the acquisition of ImClone by Eli Lilly in 2008 for an EV of $6.2bn, while Millennium was acquired by Takeda in 2008 for an EV of $7.8bn, and MedImmune was acquired by AstraZeneca in 2007 for an EV of $14.7bn.

On the captive production side, expansions are regularly announced by the industry, and investments continue to be made by Big Pharma to cater to the market growth. Examples include:

• October 2012 – Novartis announces $500m investment in a biotech API plant in Singapore based on cell culture technology.
• April 2012 – Baxter announces the addition of a new manufacturing facility in Covington (GA), with planned investment exceeding $1bn over the next 5 years to support the growth of its biopharma business.
• March 2012 – GlaxoSmithKline announces investments of $560m in the UK for a biomanufacturing plant.
• August 2009 – Genentech (Roche) acquires biopharma facility from Lonza in Singapore for $290m.
• June 2006 – Bristol-Myers Squibb announces the investment of $750m in its factory in Devens (MA) for the manufacture of one of its mammalian drugs (Orencia).

Nonetheless, Big Pharma companies will increasingly rely on outsourcing organizations as they look to mitigate their supply chain risks, implement diversification strategies for their API supply, and combine captive production with CMO production. CMS Pharma’s model indicates API outsourcing for biopharmaceuticals will increase from 30% in 2011 to 35% in 2017.