New generation molecules are the focus of much of the research and development efforts of the global pharmaceutical market. The general industry trend has been to steer the development of therapies towards increasingly selective, and therefore increasingly potent, molecules, with the possibility of extending to additional therapeutic areas (oncology in particular). Olon Group, a CDMO which has more than doubled its growth in strategic investments during the last five years, is building capabilities to provide support for pharmaceutical partners throughout all stages of the development process. Target therapies - drugs that are selective and therefore better tolerated by the patient - have an action that targets only the mechanism underlying development of the disease. They are finding increasingly broad application in treating the world's most widespread oncological diseases (primarily breast cancer), but also rheumatic and respiratory diseases and other major therapeutic categories with unmet needs. Improvements in treatment selectivity result in demand for increasingly potent active pharmaceutical ingredients. These ingredients require highly specific technologies, systems and skills to meet the appropriate standard of containment and guarantee there has been no contamination of operators and products. "We have built large-volume containment facilities," says Giorgio Bertolini, VP RD Olon Group, "to support the production of new drug classes, in particular oncology drugs. Despite containing a very small quantity of highly potent active ingredient, these have to be made available to a large number of patients worldwide. This requires large batch sizes of product, so as to allow pharmaceutical companies to guarantee access to therapies for all patients who need it."
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