Nice Insight recently completed the 2016 Pharma­ceutical Equipment Survey, which profiles 40 of the industry’s leading pharmaceutical equipment companies. Companies were selected based on their size, sales, regions covered, equipment manufactured and marketing practices, as well as customer awareness and perception. Pharmaceutical equipment subject matter experts vetted these parameters and companies for relevance within the industry.

Demographics

The 2016 Pharmaceutical Equipment Survey was deployed to an international audience. Responses were collected from a total of 489 industry profes­sionals worldwide, including those in Asia, Europe and North America.

All respondents are currently employed in phar­maceuticals or biopharmaceuticals. Many are in­volved in the production of generics, OTC medica­tions, nutraceuticals and contract development and manufacturing organizations (CDMOs). The companies represented vary widely in size, from emerging, defined as under 100 employees, to large, with over 2,500 employees.

In order to ensure the 2016 Pharmaceutical Equipment Survey provides the most accurate picture of the current equipment market, Nice Insight established strong criteria to determine respondent validity. Respondents are screened for [a] industry, [b] range and depth of pharmaceu­tical equipment knowledge, [c] company interest level in purchasing new systems and technology and [d] level of direct involvement in equipment purchasing decisions.

The majority of respondents currently hold managerial or executive positions in their re­spective departments and organizations. There was an even mix of respondents from various departments: manufacturing, purchasing, engi­neering, operations and corporate / executive. Of the qualified respondents, random sampling was used to create a pool of responses from which the results of the survey were analyzed.

From the entire pharmaceutical equipment spectrum, Nice Insight focused on three major segments for 2016 — Processing, Bioprocessing and Packaging.

Processing

Processing equipment focused on equipment for formulation and manufacturing of mainly small-molecule pharmaceuticals. Processing equip­ment was further subdivided into three catego­ries based on the type of dosage for which they were designed: solid dosage, semi-solid dosage and liquid dosage.

Below is a list of equipment covered under each of the three sub-categories:

Solid Dose:
+  Tableting
+  Encapsulation
+  Conveyors / Transfer
+  Blenders
+  Conical Mills
+  High Shear Mixers / Granulators
+  Agglomeration / Compaction
+  Blade / Hammer Mills
+  Counting Equipment
+  Form / Fill / Seal
+  Fluid Bed Processors / Dryers

Semi-Solid Dose:
+  Mixers / Stirrers / Blenders
+  Homogenizing Equipment
+  Heating / Cooling Equipment
+  Size Reduction Equipment
+  Milling
+  Form / Fill / Seal

Liquid Dose:
+  Spraying Equipment
+  Homogenizing
+  Conveyors
+  Filtration
+  Milling
+  Freeze Drying

Bioprocessing

Bioprocessing equipment covers the equipment needed for the development and manufacturing of biologics. Bioprocessing equipment is further subdivided into two categories based on the stage of development / manufacturing: upstream and downstream.

Upstream:
+  Bioreactors
+  Fermenters
+  Incubators
+  Cell Culture Biological Shakers
+  Disposable Bioprocessing Equipment
+  Mixing / Blending / Milling Equipment

Downstream:
+  Filtration Equipment
+  Purification Equipment
+  Chromatography Systems and Equipment
+  Separation Equipment
+  Disposable Equipment

Packaging

As the name suggests, the packaging equipment category covers equipment used in primary and secondary packaging of (bio) pharmaceutical products.

Primary Packaging:
+  Aseptic Fill-Finish and Capping Equipment
+  Non-Aseptic Fill-Finish and Capping Equipment
+  Unit Dose Fill-Seal
+  Blow / Fill / Seal
+  Inspection Systems
+  Containment Solutions
+  Product Assembly Lines

Secondary Packaging:
+  Cartoning Equipment
+  Overwrappers and Stretch Banders
+  Bulk Packaging Equipment
+  Checkweighers
+  Serialization Equipment
+  Tamper-Evident Solutions
+  End Packaging

Participants were queried on their interest level in purchasing new equipment, thus mapping out the market for these three categories. The collected responses determine the drivers for evaluating equipment providers and the influence of pur­chasing exploration. The survey also illustrates the main sources of dissatisfaction when working with an existing equipment supplier.

Effective Evaluation

Accurately and effectively evaluating the market can be a challenge. The 2016 Pharmaceutical Equipment Survey seeks to provide awareness and perception standing within the competitive market. Awareness and Perception are the two key measures for a company’s performance from a marketing perspective. Awareness is measured on a four-point scale: [1] Never heard of, [2] Familiar with name/logo, [3] Somewhat known and [4] Well known. This perception measure helps companies identify their gaps in awareness, allowing for the identification of market needs and opportunities. The tool can also be used to inform equipment-purchasing decisions from a buyer perspective.

Company perception is measured on six key decision drivers — Reliability, Customer Service, Process Integrity, Total Cost of Ownership, Post-Sales Support and Overall Equipment Efficiency.

Each driver is ranked on a 5-point scale, from Unsatisfactory to Excellent, which serves as a measure of respondent perception. These perception scores are weighted, aggregated and tallied to provide a unique total that allows each supplier to be compared against each other both per driver and on an aggregate level. Buyer perception, based on personal experience or information accrued through industry knowledge, is thus quantified.

The proprietary Nice Insight comparison tool segments the awareness and perception scores of equipment companies rated on various criteria. These scores elucidate the crucial marketing benchmarks of awareness and perception from multiple perspectives, allowing purchasers, providers and market players to better grasp this ever-evolving space.

Overall, the Nice Insight 2016 Pharmaceutical Equipment Survey provides a comprehensive awareness/perception score of a pharmaceutical equipment provider. Nice Insight is very excited with the 2016 findings and looks forward to sharing the results with the industry.

About the Authors

Kshitij (TJ) Ladage, Market Research Manager, Nice Insight

Kshitij (TJ) has been a part of Nice Insight since 2014.  TJ's role involves research design and operations, developing and maintaining the syndicated studies, business intelligence data analysis, content development and article writing on the latest developments in the biopharmaceutical industry. He brings with him seasoned biopharmaceutical market research and strategy consulting experience having spent some years as a Project Manager on the agency side of the Life Sciences industry. Prior to market research TJ spent time in academia research working on a broad range of subject matter including pharmacoeconomics, drug delivery, and genetics. TJ holds a Masters of Biotechnology degree from the University of Pennsylvania. 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kshitij-tj-ladage-72182419
Email: tj@thatsnice.com

Govindra Singh, Market Research Manager, Nice Insight 

Govindra was the first student to graduate with a dual degree from City College of New York; a BS in Biochemistry and MS in Organic Chemistry. During his Masters, Govindra conducted research on the synthesis of potential anti-cancer and anti-viral compounds. From this he was able to publish two research articles in high impact journals. After, he worked as a scientist in industrial and pharmaceutical companies. Govindra comes to That’s Nice with vast knowledge in the sciences, and will be involved in conducting market research studies by designing surveys and the analysis of research data both qualitatively and quantitatively.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/govindra-singh-07761b79
Email: govindra@thatsnice.com

Emilie Branch, Strategic Content Manager, Nice Insight 

Emilie is responsible for Scientific Content development based on areas of specialty for both Nice Insight research articles for the industry and assisting client content development for a range of industry channels. She works alongside clients to brainstorm thought leadership topics, facilitates interviews and contributes as an editor. Prior to joining That’s Nice / Nice Insight, Emilie worked at a strategy-based consultancy firm, focused on consumer ethnographic research. She also has experience as a Contributing Editor, and has worked as a freelance writer for a host of news and trends related publications. Emilie holds a Bachelors of Business Administration and Management and is pursuing a Masters degree.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emiliebranch
Email: emilie@thatsnice.com

Saakshi Gupta, MBiotech, Scientific Research Manager, Nice Insight

Saakshi Gupta joined the Market Research team at That’s Nice / Nice Insight in 2016 as a Masters in Biotechnology and Entrepreneurship intern from New York University, where she worked as a cell culture researcher in Dr. Jin Montclare’s lab. Saakshi also holds an Advance Diploma in Biotherapeutics and a certificate in Clinical Research. Before joining That’s Nice, Saakshi worked for over 4 years as a research associate in various prestigious research labs in the US and India. She researched combinatorial treatment therapy for melanoma at John Theurer Cancer Centre at Hackensack Medical Center, and performed cloning and expression studies for biosimilar monoclonal antibodies at Reliance Life Sciences in India.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/saakshi-gupta-999a4335
Email: saakshi@thatsnice.com

Maurice Spicer, Market Research Analyst, Nice Insight

Maurice joined the Nice Insight research team in early 2016 starting as an intern using his degree in Biology from Clark University (USA), where he built a strong foundation in research first as a lab technician then as a research assistant in Dr. Todd Livdahl's lab. Before joining Nice Insight, he worked for Beth Israel Hospital in Brooklyn, where he ran several successful projects aimed at increasing both operating suite and hospital bed turnover efficiency. Maurice also has pharmacy experience. He brings with him a wide range of experience, both as a researcher and as a healthcare professional. 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maurice-spicer-832313a9
Email: maurice@thatsnice.com