The Year in Review: Biotherapeutics in 2024 and a Look Ahead to 2025
Scientist
on
December 12, 2024
This blog post was written by Eurofins Discovery, a global leader in scientific testing and laboratory services for the advancement of drug discovery and human health.
In 2024, the biotherapeutics industry continued its trajectory of changing the landscape of disease treatments for patients. The year kicked off with a landmark approval of CASGEVY®, the first cell-based gene therapy for the treatment of transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia and is closing with the news of the advancement of bispecifics showing promise in the fight against cancer. To better understand the industry trends, we sat down with Dr. Francisca Neethling, Head of Biotherapeutic Services at Eurofins Discovery, to discuss the highs and lows of the past year, the team’s successes and what to expect in 2025.
Q: What was the biotherapeutics industry buzzing about in 2024?
A: GLP-1 inhibitors kept grabbing the headlines, and semaglutide was projected to reach over $16B in sales by the end of 2024. That makes it second only to pembrolizumab! I think the big news of the year is that many companies are working on therapeutics to help treat diabetes and obesity.
Q: Are there any notable trends such as different treatment modalities, new targets or interesting MoAs that emerged or gained momentum in 2024?
A: The “easy” targets are gone. Drug developers have to come up with more complicated molecules to treat the undruggable targets, so multi-specifics have gained a lot of ground. Every company is looking for something proprietary, and they’re developing some very interesting formats and target combinations. These types of projects are stimulating to work on, and the Eurofins Discovery team has welcomed the challenge our clients bring us.
Q: What were the most popular services Eurofins Discovery provided biopharma partners in 2024?
A: We saw a lot of interest in cytotoxicity, including ADCC, ADCP, CDC assays and Fcγ receptor binding panels by SPR. These services are in demand as the FDA increasingly asks our clients whether they have assessed effector function with cell-based and binding assays. Just because something binds doesn’t mean you’ll see the desired function; looking at both is essential. We’re also getting more requests for producer cell line generation as our clients are planning ahead and considering the manufacturability of their molecules and consistent supply going forward.
Q: What made your team so successful in 2024?
A: This year, we have been running large, end-to-end screening campaigns involving multiple characterization assays. We start with hundreds of candidates and develop a stepwise, comprehensive screening funnel to identify the most promising candidates. Orchestrating these campaigns is like conducting a symphony in the lab. Our Eurofins Discovery team members have complementary and overlapping expertise, making it all possible. They’re communicative, collaborative and work well as a team. For a large-molecule lab, we have great chemistry.
Q: How do you see biotherapeutics development evolving at Eurofins Discovery over the next year?
A: I have no doubt that the Eurofins Discovery biotherapeutics team will be even busier in 2025 than we were in 2024. I expect an uptick in programs focused on the discovery, characterization and production of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), which are quickly gaining traction in the market. We are uniquely equipped to support our client’s ADC development because we have a skilled antibody discovery and characterization team working alongside a chemistry team that is expert in payload and linker chemistry for ADC design and synthesis.
I also predict that we will continue to see more requests for cytotoxicity assays to support the FDA’s requirements. Gene therapy projects will also increase. Our team has become exceptional at developing, screening and characterizing these therapies, including antisense oligos (ASOs), ASO-drug conjugates and small interfering RNA (siRNA).
Conclusion
The biotherapeutics team at Eurofins Discovery thrives on being a partner at every step of drug discovery with our clients. As 2024 winds down and your priorities for 2025 come into focus, the team is ready and excited to take on new programs and collaborations. We’d love to hear from you!
Please visit us at https://www.eurofinsdiscovery.com/solution/biotherapeutics-characterization and contact us to learn how we can support your efforts.