COVID-19 Impact on Pharmaceutical Packaging in Chemicals and Materials Industry

COVID-19 Impact on Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (IPSCS) in the Healthcare Industry

  • Healthcare
  • Dec 20, 2021

The COVID-19 is a type of communicable disease that created ripples throughout the world in early 2020, taking the lives of millions around the globe and infecting more. The disease is caused by SARS CoV-2, which is a highly infectious virus and passes on through human interaction. The virus causes respiratory tract infection, causing damage to the upper and lower respiratory tract.

The spread of the disease brought the world to a halt, affecting the research and medical products supply in almost every part of the world. The global induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) market was impacted negatively by the widespread of the disease. There were numerous unprecedented changes seen in the market.

Induced pluripotent stem cells are pluripotent cells derived from adult somatic cells that can be genetically reprogrammed to an embryonic stem cell-like state with the expression of certain factors to maintain all definite properties of embryonic stem cells. The rising pipeline products, increasing research & development along with government support are acting as drivers for the growth of the market.

Impact on Price

The COVID-19 had a devastating impact on the global economy. The medical products firms are facing financial challenges as the disease brought the whole world to a halt. The sales of few medical devices experienced a downfall while others managed to stay afloat.  

  • According to Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc., in 2021 the company was mobilizing in early 2020 to support the supply of products that aids in analyzing, diagnosing and protecting from the virus. However, the company faced a significant reduction in customer activity during mid-year which adversely affected their stem cell reprogramming products and sales in the life sciences business segment which is also anticipated to impact the price of products.

Thereby due to supply chain disruptions, the lack of raw materials and human force for manufacturing stem cell products and research during the covid-19 pandemic is anticipated to cause an impact on price.

Impact On Demand

The coronavirus pandemic left a huge impact on the induced pluripotent stem cells market owing to its efficacy in its application. The emergence of COVID-19 set some significant operational changes in how the products are manufactured and supplied. With the increase in the incidence of COVID-19 itself and existing infectious diseases, the demand for pluripotent stem cell therapy increased at a faster rate. Due to higher demand, the availability of these products or therapies is greatly affected. The induced pluripotent stem cells have enabled the derivation of human cells, which can be used in drug discovery and behaves as disease modeling tools for various infectious diseases, especially COVID-19.

For instance,

  • According to journal article published on September, 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic crisis has created the urgency in need for biological model to study pathology of SARS-CoV-2 infection, which not only involves respiratory failure, but also includes dysregulation of other organs and systems, including the brain, heart, liver, intestines, pancreas, kidneys, eyes, and so on. Thereby cells or celluloids derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells has aided in being tool for in vitro simulation of viral life cycles and drug screening to prevent the reemergence of coronavirus.

Though during COVID-19 the research activities were taking place on animal models and cell lines, they showed few limitations such as costly animal models with varied physiological characteristics to humans, the demand for cost efficient and specific human relevant models was huge. These requirements were met by the human induced pluripotent stem cell models and led to the sudden surge in pipeline products. The growing adoption of stem cell therapies during COVID-19 has further increased the demand for induced pluripotent stem cells market.

Impact on Supply Chain

The COVID-19 has created a great impact on the supply chain of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) products. Sudden restrictions on trade and movement of goods had resulted in nationwide lockdowns globally, resulting in disrupted supply chains due to limited raw materials and workforce, and slow down or stopping of manufacturing. Moreover, several companies started retooling priority manufacturing to produce other essential medical supplies and equipment such as vaccines and ventilators.  

To minimize supply chain crises, the government has been firmly monitoring the supply chain to assume that the COVID-19 outbreak may adversely impact the supply chain of medical products, including stem cells and reprogramming therapies. The current scenario of lenient regulations over transportation facilities in various countries has allowed the supply of these products and kits to gain speed. Additionally, during this crucial situation, several organizations are looking forward to improving and diversifying the supply chain model in all aspects. The resulting COVID-19 pandemic has made manufacturers use various strategic supply chain management plans, which may be effective for maintaining their supply.  

STRATEGIC DECISIONS BY MANUFACTURERS

The key players engaged in the global induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) market are making improvements to keep the speed during COVID-19. They are taking every single choice cautiously so the development can be expanded on a consistent schedule for the market. The manufacturers are giving a great deal of consideration in the improvement of inventive items that can be utilized for the attractive impacts. Organizations working in the induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) market are embracing new strategies including joint effort, arrangements, associations, and market developments to improve their business.

For instance,

  • In December 2020, STEMCELL Technologies Inc. announced that it has entered into an agreement with CollPlant to supply rhCollagen to STEMCELL. The company will incorporate CollPlant’s product into cell culture media kits. This will help the company in further expansion of its business.
  • In December 2020, Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. announced in their annual report that the company is giving importance in keeping their employee safe and healthy, thereby the company established a global crisis management team of internal and external experts to closely monitor the covid-19 pandemic.
  • In November 2020, FUJIFILM Cellular Dynamics announced that it has entered into an agreement with Lonza to expand the use and availability of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Technology. This will help the company to leverage the technologies and expertise of Lonza for the generation of iPSC through licensing agreement.

Additionally, the manufacturers are also taking crucial steps to ensure the availability of raw materials by following proper regulatory guidelines by their specific government authorities.

Manufacturers need to take necessary steps about production processes, shifting to other facilities if required, changes in quality assurance, costs and procedures related to screening of workforce and offering of care if needed, changes in working hours, and others to maintain their supply chain during the pandemic.

Even during the pandemic, the companies are taking initiatives to resume their manufacturing and trial over the market to further strengthen their position.

Conclusion

The impact of the novel COVID 19 virus is expected to leave a long-lasting impact on the healthcare sector. The outbreak of COVID-19 prompted citizens to deal with confusion regarding the virus and its management. The virus has caused economic distress and severe emotional strain. COVID-19 has impacted each and every market with no exception. The global induced pluripotent stem cells market has been affected by the same. The rise in the number of diseases, such as cancer and the simultaneously growing biotechnology sector, has brought people to go for stem cell therapies and has shown growth in the market. The trend has been suggested to show steady growth in the upcoming years.

Moreover, many international healthcare organizations along with governments have supported the supply of these products and kits due to high priority in crucial cases. Many government bodies and significant market players are closely associated with patients as well as industries for safe packaging of products considering contagious nature of virus and improvement of future economics in various region globally.