Ashu Tandon, Chief Commercial Officer and Management Council member at Aragen, has over 25 years of experience working in the biopharma business. This shows itself in a variety of ways —for instance, before our interview proper began, we had an extended discussion on the history of biopharma in New Jersey and why it became a hotbed for industry start-ups— but our conversation at CPHI Milan centered around industry trends and how Aragen is strategically positioned to benefit from them.

“India, today, is the frontrunner to become the global hub for life sciences R&D and manufacturing and is rapidly expanding its reputation into the biologics space. Aragen has announced an investment plan of $250 mn over the next five years in expanding our R&D and manufacturing capacity and capabilities.”

Per Ashu Tandon, the United States’ turn towards adversarial relations with China is set to benefit companies like Aragen in India. The BIOSECURE Act, a piece of pending legislation that is set to discourage relations with Chinese companies in the biotechnology sector, was on the lips of just about every biopharma representative I talked to. Representatives from Europe and India were particularly enthusiastic about this move, as friendshoring efforts would proportionately benefit them.

In our discussion, however, Tandon noted that BIOSECURE doesn’t exist in a vacuum. 2022’s Inflation Reduction Act, notably, acted as a disruptor in the industry because it attempted to lower prices by enabling the government to directly negotiate drug prices for Medicare patients, altering existing patent limits, and capping out-of-pocket costs for Medicare beneficiaries. Downward price pressures effectively pass costs onto manufacturers, who have to look for cost-cutting and cost optimization as a remedy. Outsourcing is the most optimal and feasible way to do exactly this, and India is positioned well by falling outside pending friendshoring limitations while maintaining a relatively low overall manufacturing cost.

“Outsourcing today has become a “must have” rather than a “good to have” strategy in the life sciences sector. Its not just about cost-cutting, but also ready access to an immense talent pool of scientists and an ecosystem that delivers world class pharmaceuticals to the world. Aragen with its nearly 25 year history of delivering CRO/CDMO services to customers with its 4000+ staff is uniquely positioned to take advantage of this trend”.

Another trend that came up in the discussion was the waves various companies are making in the biologics space. For instance, we discussed that while a link between amyloid plaques and Alzheimer’s disease is believed to exist, companies’ understanding of what causes what —i.e., are amyloid plaques a precursor to Alzheimer’s, or an early symptom?— is still limited. Consequently, companies are making a “big bet” when designing and implementing longitudinal studies concerning one theory or another, which incentivizes outsourcing relationships that can greatly assist in the CRO process.

“Aragen integrates the capabilities of a CDMO with the research depth of a CRO, creating a seamless, flexible model for advancing complex drug development projects. This approach enables us to provide agile, end-to-end support across drug development, making it a valuable partner for personalized medicine solutions.”