Can you provide a brief overview of PCI’s business?

BP: PCI is an integrated supply chain solution provider to pharma. Our clients range from small and mid-sized companies (SMID) to large pharma. We operate in three segments: Drug Development and Manufacturing, Clinical Trial Services, and Commercial Packaging Technology, which was the foundation of PCI. We support 50 commercial launches and about 1,000 clinical trials each year, and we operate out of 11 cities, with 25 GMP facilities.

How has PCI’s business expanded in recent years and what are the broader industry trends driving expansion?

BP: PCI expanded its global presence substantially in recent years and last year, we added a facility in Berlin, which we are building out to be a clinical trial services COE. This was part of the Belwyck acquisition, which also put us into Canada and expanded our presence in mainland Europe. We are now finished with our US$2 million investment in Berlin, and opening that expansion in March. We also expanded into Melbourne, Australia, which gives us a footprint in Asia-Pacific. We have been busy expanding our geography, and the year before the Melbourne acquisition, we bought Sherpa in San Diego, which has been very successful as another clinical trial services facility.

In Philadelphia alone, we invested US$25 million in automated assembly and packaging of auto injectors, prefilled syringes and vials. Part of our strategy is to be a solution provider, not just a commercial packager, and to differentiate through technology and talent. Our operation in Philadelphia is emblematic of this strategy, because we have invested in state-of-the-art automation, hiring the appropriate engineers that understand how to run lights out automation type equipment, and it is more successful than we anticipated.

Another trend we see in the industry is, while we built the company on the back of big pharma through commercial packaging, the speed of growth in SMID pharma is phenomenal. Large pharma companies tend to have big teams. They have supply chain people and a lot of experts in the field of packaging and clinical trials services. SMID companies generally do not. PCI, with our broad array of offerings, can fill voids in that space, whether it is setting up a supply chain, or designing a package. The range of ways to get to market has expanded dramatically, and PCI is always on top of these trends.

Lastly, we offer a suite of speed to market services that help SMID companies get their product from development into commercialization rapidly.

What role does PCI’s cold storage unit play in vaccine delivery?

CB: We invested US$25 million in cold storage upgrades in the summer of 2020, as part of our global expansion of biologics. This puts us in a position to handle any surge in business resulting from vaccine activity. We continuously evaluate capacity of our cold storage units to make sure we are proactive in our investment strategy.

How does PCI Bridge address real time supply chain visibility issues?

MB: We know how important real-time data visibility is for our clients, and PCI bridge delivers instant access to real-time inventory, production, distribution and shipping data. Our clients are now able to make more informed decisions, speed validations and work more efficiently than ever before. We have several data sources connected to the platform that enable this truly real-time capability, as well as project management tools, so clients have a holistic view of their projects from inception through completion.

How is biologics manufacturing evolving?

BP: With biologics, if you contrast the injectable equipment, versus oral solid dose equipment, it is significantly more complex. We noticed the volumes of drugs sold per year is much lower on the injectables market, because they are typically for some specific therapeutic benefit. Therefore, you can have a blockbuster biologic that is 10 million units a year versus an oral solid dose that might be 50 million bottles a year. With the way the equipment is designed, you can produce auto injectors or prefilled syringes very quickly. When you think about the annual sales, the speed of making them is faster. You might only use the injectable equipment if you are producing one particular drug one or two days a month, which would not make sense to invest in if you were a pharma company. Whereas, if you are a CMO, it would make great sense because you can run many different products on that same line. The cost and complexity of equipment has gone up dramatically. The run sizes have gone down. Consequently, it plays into the CMO strategy of investing in biologics capacity.

CB: The pipeline for biologics in various stages of FDA approval shows strong growth over the next several years, and PCI is staying on top of this trend and investing in the latest technology to enhance capacity and accommodate the novel drug delivery formats of biologic products. In July 2020, we completed the expansion of our Biotech Center of Excellence, which includes assembly, testing, and packaging of biologics in multiple delivery methods including pre-filled syringes and auto-injectors. Projects from numerous global biopharmaceutical customers have been secured which will benefit from the new expansion, which is a reflection of the market demand.

One area that is really evolving is the shift from prefilled syringe delivery to self-administered devices. In this COVID climate, where we see a trend in limiting external contact for patients, the demand will increase. We strategically selected equipment capable of running various device types to provide further flexibility to our clients.