CPHI Barcelona Annual Report illuminates industry trends for 2024

The CPHI Annual Survey comes into it’s 7th year to report on the predicted trends for 2024. Over 250 pharma executives were asked 35 questions, with their answers informing the industry landscape for the next year, spanning all major pharma markets. 

This year’s report reflects a shift change in future therapies, whereas last year experts were excited about the prospects surrounding psychedelics, this year the industry has honed in on AI as more of a focus with a more imminent impact on the industry, particularly over the next 5 or so years. 

The report highlights some important geopolitical factors and, due to events of the past few years, how the pharma supply chain has adapted with moving of manufacturing sites and investments in certain areas to increase resilience. Biotechnology hubs have boomed, along with a change in location of many R&D centres. 

Topics the report picks out as of high interest are artificial intelligence, sustainability, bioprocessing, cell & gene therapies and LNPs, discussing aspects of the pharma market in Spain ahead of the country playing host to CPHI this year, and many more key trends. 

Artificial intelligence

As an aspect of the tech and pharma industry for several decades, AI has broken ground particularly in sustainability and drug discovery, making it an appealing prospect for investors at the minute, with 24.85% of VCs and investors stating as much according to the annual survey. 

Drugs discovered through the use of AI are predicted to come up for approval in the next few years, with big tech and big pharma partnerships becoming a fast dominant feature. These partnerships and categories of development that AI could prove useful in could mean a huge boost in revenue in this area, with a wider impact on the global economy, hence the interest in investment here. 

Bikash Chatterjee, President and Chief Science Officer of Pharmatech Associates, a USP company, stated: “A recent study estimated that global GDP could be up 14% higher in 2030 as a result of AI – the equivalent of an additional $15.7 trillion – making it the biggest commercial opportunity in today’s economy.”

The benefits on a more patient-centric level for the incorporation of AI are also clear, with potential uses in cell and gene therapies and clinical trial selection and analyses, adding to it’s appeal for pharma companies looking to improve their offerings in the future. 

Sustainability

In all industries, sustainability has beeen reevaluated. In pharma in particular, as one industry that has historically been a big contriubtor to climate change, sustainability has very quickly become recognised as being vastly important. Visibility across the supply chain is considered important by the majority of executives in the field, with each stage being scrutinised with a view to finding more sustainable ways to process. As well as the moral imperative here, there is an economic driver, as by streamlining production, reducing waste, and modifying distribution, companies can also save money, whilst saving the planet. 

Spain pharma market 

Executives from the survey have identified Spain, and more specifically Barcelona, as an up and coming region, particularly in the biotech/life science start-up market. Spain has seen increased rankings across API manufacturing and biologics manufacturing industries, coming up closely behind world leaders such as the USA, Germany, and Japan. 

Raul Martin, Partner at Ysios Capital comments on some of the new activity coming out of Spain: “The historical strength of the country is around small molecules. However, a number of companies have been created around more ‘sophisticated’ modalities including antibodies, cell therapy for regenerative medicine and oncology, gene therapy, RNA therapeutics, oncolytic virus. However, there are also now some initiatives to foster advanced therapies, but they are still too incipient to know if they will consolidate and become a driving force for the sector.”

The report suggests that with further growth in R&D and manufacturing services in Spain, the region could expand and build partnerships more easily in the future. 

For more details on the all of the fields covered by the survey and in depth analyses of our expert insights, make sure to download the full annual report here.