Bioreactor sales upsurge with ramped-up COVID-19 vaccine production

Hrishikesh Kadam, Senior Research Content Developer, Global Market Insights, India

Bioreactor technology has evolved over time and is still expanding as its requirements in biopharmaceutical and biotechnology applications are quite different from what they used to be several years ago. Currently, there is a need for easy-to-use bioreactors for advanced cell culture and patient-specific therapies.

Patient-specific therapy is fast becoming the new frontier for biopharmaceutical research. Improved understanding of the human genome and enhanced ability to cultivate cells outside the body is fueling the need for bioreactors.

Bioreactor sales witnessed a notable uptick during 2020 with many companies expanding their facilities in order to fulfil the demand for COVID-19 vaccine production. Nationwide vaccination programmes throughout the world and the ongoing demand could further boost sales in the near future.

The demand for COVID-19 vaccines and other biologics is fueling the global bioreactor market size, which is set to reach $16 billion in terms of valuation by 2027, claims Global Market Insights, Inc (GMI).

The Asia Pacific (APAC) region could capture a substantial share of the market with increasing government focus on encouraging the growth of local biotech companies by offering direct investments, tax incentives, and other resources.

Opportunities

Bioreactors are an important component of the vaccine manufacturing process. The technology is ideal for addressing the growing risk of diseases in emerging economies. GMI has reported that vaccines accounted for nearly 47 per cent of the global bioreactors market share during 2020.