As many biopharma and life sciences companies have experienced a sharp increase in demand for new products and technologies in 2020–2021, our new blog series ‘Challenges of Rapid Growth’ explores common growing pains and provides helpful CQV tips.

The biopharmaceutical industry is in a unique position to address many challenges amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Holding this position means being ready to meet the demand for quality products is increasing rapidly.

We’ve outlined some ways to keep your facility’s manufacturing on track, meet client demands, and deliver the best quality product the first time, every time.

Challenges of Rapid Growth - Increasing Quantity Without Sacrificing Quality

Five Components to Meet Rapidly Growing Demand

The pandemic has changed the biopharma industry’s ability to respond quickly to deadly viruses. To help support this response, building a solid foundation into your manufacturing will set you up for success.

There are five components to consider when meeting this growing product demand:

  • 1. Be adaptable

    Staying adaptable is a vital component to staying ahead and delivering life-saving treatments to patients. Create processes that are easily replicable so you can respond quickly as projects scale up or change.

  • 2. Stay communicative

    Whether you’re working with the manufacturer or a vendor, communicate challenges and needs for production. If something changes in the timeline, don’t let it slip through the cracks.

  • 3. Lean on expertise

    Having the right people in your corner can help your organization scale to meet demand all while keeping quality at the top of mind. However, finding trusted, experienced staff for your commissioning, qualification, and validation projects can be difficult and time-consuming. Don’t wait to find the right people to support your commissioning, quality, and validation manufacturing processes. Try ICQ’s trusted applicant sourcing platform.

  • 4. Embrace technology

    New digital approaches in biopharma are enhancing compliance and process efficiency. You’ve heard of “Biopharma 4.0”, better known as biopharma’s industrial revolution. This is the dramatic transformation of business by utilizing automation, data, and analytics to increase efficiency in manufacturing, reduce errors, and increase quality.

    By taking the time to learn how technology platforms can improve your processes, adjusting to a quantity increase will be easier.

  • 5. Collaborate with the industry

    In many instances, having biopharma commissioning consultants and other partners during the manufacturing process can support faster production allowing you to meet demand more quickly and improve speed to market.

While this can be an added advantage, it helps to be skeptical, too. Pharma Manufacturing suggests evaluating a potential partner’s capabilities, utilities, and regulatory history, such as:

  • Do they have the right infrastructure in place?
  • Will they be able to mobilize quickly?
  • Is the partnership likely to produce a safe, consistent product according to regulatory criteria?

Also consider following these tips to reduce the impact on your supply chain.

See our previous post in this series: Expanding Within Your Footprint

How to Maintain Consistency While Expanding Your Operations

So you’ve met your quantity requirements all while preserving quality, but how do you maintain this consistency?

There are always opportunities to improve on quality. After meeting your supply demands, find time to run an assessment with your production team.

For example: What went well? What could have gone better? What would you do differently next time?

Taking time for this type of reflection will ensure continuous process improvements.

How do you meet new demands without sacrificing quality?