How External Collaborations Shape the Future of Biotherapeutics
In this episode of A View On, we speak with Andrew Brown, R&D Director at Lonza’s Integrated Biologics, and Zara Asgharpour, Director of External Innovation in Integrated Biologics, about how evolving molecular formats and external innovation are transforming the way biotherapeutics are developed and manufactured.
The world of biotherapeutics is in constant evolution, with new molecular formats, scientific insights, and strategic partnerships shaping the medicines of tomorrow. These increasingly complex biologics require new approaches in development and manufacturing, from developing advanced characterization methods to flexible, innovation-driven platforms.
Traditionally, biomanufacturing relied on well-established monoclonal antibodies and incremental process improvements. Today, developers are increasingly bringing a far broader range of modalities into the pipeline, each with unique scientific and manufacturability challenges. Meeting these demands requires both internal expertise and collaboration with external innovators.
Advances in technology and science are reshaping the design, production, and innovation of biomolecules, making agility, partnerships, and new technologies key to the development of modern biologics.
KEY TERMS:
New molecular formats are reshaping biotherapeutic development, as customers bring increasingly diverse and complex protein structures that differ from traditional monoclonal antibodies, requiring new scientific approaches and manufacturing strategies to ensure clinical success..
Manufacturability at scale has become a defining consideration from the earliest stages of development, as emerging biotechs rely on CDMO expertise to anticipate how a molecule will behave when transitioning from bench to clinic and ultimately to commercial production. Novel molecular formats cannot rely on these platform approaches and require continuous innovation and development of fit-for-purpose methods for production, purification, and analytics.
Platform approaches in biotherapeutics now enable teams to streamline development by applying decades of accumulated knowledge, allowing for faster and more predictable progression from discovery to clinical trials through proven, standardized methods.
External innovation scouting identifies disruptive or strategically valuable technologies from startups, established companies, and academic labs, creating partnerships that accelerate the adoption of new tools, methods, and modalities across manufacturing workflows.
