The biopharmaceutical industry is responsible for the creation of many cutting edge treatments in recent years. These range from vaccines for deadly viruses to advanced gene therapy to treat complex diseases.
Biopharmaceutical companies are sometimes incorrectly lumped into the same category as standard pharmaceuticals, but there are some key differences in the processes by which they are made. Most importantly is that biopharmaceuticals are created using organic or biological material, while standard pharmaceuticals are created purely through synthetic processes and chemicals.
There are hundreds of biopharmaceutical companies operating across dozens of nations. Some of these organizations are small startups or purely research-based companies, while others are major players in the worldwide market. Five of the largest or most innovative are Samsung Biologics, Spark Therapeutics, Gilead Sciences, Moderna, and Roche.
Samsung Biologics
Samsung Biologics is a global company with its headquarters located in Incheon, South Korea. Since its creation in early 2011, Samsung Biologics has partnered with several other biopharmaceutical companies for various projects. They have also built a state-of-the-art facility that has received numerous awards, including the CMO Leadership awards for eight consecutive years.
They have shown no signs of slowing down and continue to stay heavily involved in the biopharmaceutical market. Samsung Biologics also boasts the largest single location capacity of any biopharmaceutical company and substantial annual revenue, which makes them a premier company in the biopharmaceutical industry.
Spark Therapeutics
Spark Therapeutics Inc. is a U.S.-based biopharmaceutical company whose headquarters is located in Philadelphia. Founded in 2013, Spark has close ties to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and primarily focuses on investigational gene therapy. Gene therapy has a huge potential for treating patients that suffer from currently incurable inherited diseases.
Currently, they only have one major product on the U.S. market called Luxturna, which was released in March of 2018. This product is used to treat an inherited mutation that affects the retina and was the first of its kind to be approved by the FDA. Spark recently partnered with the much larger Roche, which indicates that they should continue to grow in 2021 and beyond.
Gilead Sciences
Gilead Sciences is another U.S. based biopharmaceutical company that was founded in 1987. Gilead’s headquarters is located in Foster City, California but they have 9 other domestic offices throughout the United States. Gilead has been involved with several breakthroughs in the biopharmaceutical space during its nearly 35-year existence, including the development of medications for HIV and the flu.
Most recently, they have helped fight the COVID-19 pandemic through the creation of Veklury. Veklury is an antiviral treatment used to help patients that are hospitalized with COVID-19 improve their recovery time. As the world continues to struggle against the coronavirus in 2021, Gilead Sciences will continue to grow and be heavily involved in the development of antiviral products.
Moderna
Moderna, which was founded in 2010, is based in Massachusetts. They are primarily focused on biopharmaceuticals that are based on the use and manipulation of mRNA. By using the same fundamental approach for various diseases, Moderna strives to reduce the development time of new vaccines.
Moderna is in the process of completing clinical trials in a variety of subject areas, such as the treatment of viruses and cancer. In total, they have nearly two dozen experimental drugs and vaccines in various stages of development. However, none are commercially available at this time.
Roche
Roche is one of the oldest biopharmaceutical companies in existence today. They were originally founded in Switzerland in 1896 and still have their headquarters there to this day. While Roche is involved in both standard pharmaceuticals and biopharmaceuticals, they are considered the world’s largest biopharmaceutical company and have 17 different products on the commercial market.
If it can be treated with biopharmaceuticals, then Roche is likely involved in it. They are heavily involved in cancer and infectious disease research, as well as the diagnosis and treatment of rare diseases. Roche has also been recognized by Dow Jones for its sustainability in the biopharmaceutical industry.
Why Have Biopharmaceuticals Become So Prevalent?
As medical technology has advanced, the biopharmaceutical industry has continued to increase its share in the health market. One of the reasons for this is because of the great treatment potential of biopharmaceuticals.
Unlike regular medications, biopharmaceuticals utilize natural compounds and are structurally similar to the human body. These similarities make it possible to cure previously untreatable conditions, rather than just treat or mask the symptoms. Biopharmaceutical medications can target gene mutations or abnormal protein synthesis to provide better outcomes to patients.
In the coming years, the biopharmaceutical industry will certainly expand. Companies like Samsung Biologics, Gilead Sciences, and Roche will continue to lead the way to new and innovative biopharmaceutical treatments that are directed at overcoming inherited conditions, genetic abnormalities, and debilitating diseases.
