In recent years, there has been a rapid increase in the demand for biologics owing to the safety profile, therapeutic efficacy, and potential to treat a broad range of disease indications that are difficult to treat with traditional treatment options. It is worth highlighting here that within the past few years, more than 170 biopharmaceuticals have received approval from the FDA, and over 7500 biological drugs are currently under clinical evaluation stages of development. However, it is well-known that clinical state manufacturing of these biologics requires specialized conditions and bioprocessing equipment that maintains ideal temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, and fluid delivery. Given the requirements for biologics production, bioreactors emerge as promising solutions as these systems are specifically designed to enhance the concentration of cells and enable the production of high amounts of recombinant proteins such as antibodies, vaccines, fusion proteins, and enzymes.
Additionally, these bioreactors are useful for producing advanced cell therapies and retroviral vectors for gene therapies. Driven by the significance offered by these bioprocessing systems, bioreactors market players are focusing on the development of advanced reactors that can provide optimal conditions to develop future-based novel biologics. Considering the future requirements, let’s take a deep dive at the top 6 trends that shape the future of bioprocessing reactors.
Top 6 Trends in the Future Bioreactors Market
It is worth noting here that the bioreactors market is witnessing the widespread adoption of bioprocessing solutions that utilize artificial intelligence and machine learning for real-time bioprocessing monitoring. Adopting new technologies aims to enhance biologics productivity by offering a controlled environment condition. Thus, to meet the growing requirement for future-based therapies, here are the top 6 trends that bioreactor market players will follow to achieve the therapy goals.
1. Single Use Bioreactors
In the past few years, single-use bioreactors have gained significant attention owing to the flexibility offered by the development of biologics. Single-use bioreactors are a form of disposable bioreactors that come with a disposable bag instead of fixed culture vessels. These reactors allow bioprocessors to integrate disposable technology in biologics manufacturing, such as single-use bags. Single-use bioreactors offer several significance such as reduced chances of contamination by 8%, lesser time by 33%, cut down investment by 40%, and minimized energy consumption by 45%. Owing to the significance offered by the single-use bioprocessing systems, several bioreactor market players are emphasizing the development of single-use bioreactors as the future technology for producing biosimilars and live therapeutics.
2. Integration of Digital Process Analytics
Biologics production requires precise control and optimal parameters to maintain production quality for higher yield. Driven by the necessity of maintaining a controlled production environment, bioreactor market players focus on integrating digital processing analytics that helps optimize the production environment based on the type of therapies manufactured. Moreover, the integration of digital analytics also offers real-time monitoring of biological parameters such as pH, cell density, and dissolved oxygen—thereby, it facilitates process optimization in real-time and enhances the decision-making power of researchers for maximum production.
3. High Throughput Screening Bioreactors
A cell line’s production output is determined by its specific worker efficiency. It is defined as the amount of the target protein produced multiplied by the cell density. Increases in cell line production will continue due to strong economic factors. This means high-productivity cultures require fewer bioreactors and incur reduced capital as well as operational expenses. In this context, bioreactors market leaders have developed high throughput screening bioreactors that allow parallel cultivation of microbial strains and multiple cell lines under a controlled environment. Furthermore, the high throughput bioreactors also enable researchers to rapidly screen the culture conditions, genetic modifications, and media formulations. With real-time monitoring, the high throughput screening bioreactors can accelerate the bioprocess workflow and facilitate the identification of optimal process parameters and production strains necessary for biologics production.
4. Continuous Bioprocessing For Cellular And Gene Therapy
With growing advancements in treatment modalities, healthcare experts are shifting to cell and gene-based therapies instead of standard protein therapeutics. Since cell therapies involve live cells, conventional bioreactors cannot meet manufacturing requirements and cannot keep the cells alive within the culture. Furthermore, the traditional approach to manufacture cell therapies also poses a risk of immunological rejection.
Considering the challenges, several bioreactor market players adopted continuous bioprocessing systems that enhance productivity, offer process control, and reduce the risk of immunological rejections. With advances in continuous bioprocessing technology, such as continuous chromatography and perfusion systems, researchers can seamlessly integrate the upstream and downstream processes. This will lead to higher efficiency and productivity in biopharmaceutical manufacturing, ensuring continuous development without damaging cells.
5. Microfluidic Bioreactors
Microfluidic bioreactors are a new concept introduced in the bioreactors market to control fluid flow and cell-to-cell interaction precisely. These microfluidic bioreactors utilize microfabrication technology that aims to create a miniature cell culture environment with an accurate nutrient gradient and control of fluid flow and cell interaction. These advanced bioreactor systems enable researchers to perform high-throughput experimentations by mimicking in-vivo physiological conditions with high control. Microfluidic bioreactors are highly useful in understanding cellular behavior and their responses toward particular stimuli, making them exceptional tools for drug development, tissue engineering, precision medicine, and regenerative medicine applications.
6. Implementation of Automation
Automation and AI-driven advanced software have become an integral part of the pharmaceutical industry, particularly in drug development and discovery processes for real-time monitoring. Automation and artificial intelligence technology have been widely integrated into bioreactor systems to improve process control, streamline manufacturing operations, and optimize overall productivity. Advanced AI-powered controlled algorithms and integration of machine learning algorithms also help analyze large volumes of data generated during bioprocessing to identify trends and possible outcomes. Based on the results, bioprocessors can easily optimize the production parameters in real-time, improving process efficiency and quality.
Bioreactors Market: A Promising Future Ahead
In conclusion, the bioreactors market is continually evolving by harnessing advanced technologies and integrating smart features. Future modifications within bioreactors will be done to improve upstream and downstream processes and high-volume sectors, including polymers and cultured meats that may lie within bio-engineering mammalian cells. The aim of modifications is to achieve higher volume cell cultures with maximum precision. Bioprocessing systems will continue to be modified to meet the development requirements of biosimilars and cell-based therapies. As the demand for advanced therapies increases, the bioreactors market continues to achieve an upward trajectory and expand substantially in the upcoming years.
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