Biotechnology Platform-Derived Product Development

Abstract

Drastic changes in the way products are developed and manufactured have been witnessed over the last century. Technologies have advanced, while at the same time global competition has increased tremendously. For companies to survive and grow they need to offer greater product variety in more frequent intervals, and without incurring steep development costs. These and other pressures have rendered the practice of isolated product design and production nearly obsolete. As a consequence, what has been termed 'platform-derived product development' is becoming an increasingly pervasive practice across many industries, and biotechnology is no exception. Platforms represent a common structure from which a stream of derivative products can be efficiently developed and produced. However, despite the existence of a large body of literature on platform development and platform-derived product development, there has been little empirical research investigating this contemporary phenomenon within the biotechnology industry. Therefore the aim of this research is to explore platform-based product development within biotechnology, and the rationale underlying platform development within the industry. To conduct this research, a case study approach was adopted, involving a mixture of methods including secondary data analysis, questionnaires, and interviews. The main finding of this research uncovered unique contextual dynamics which influenced product development within each of three different platform typologies examined. The internal platform had to balance benefits of commonality with product differentiation. Within the supply chain platform, emphasis was placed on demonstrating the value and feasibility of the platform through derivative products. Whereas for the industry platform, stimulating and capturing complementary innovation influenced derivative product development. It was also evident that platform related development efficiencies in manufacturing and regulatory affairs drove platform development within the studied cases. Furthermore discovery driven platform development was also evident within the case studies, where a discovery, independent of intentional design, enabled derivative product development efficiencies.