The Rise of Biosimilars: Opportunities and Challenges

The human healthcare industry is witnessing a significant boom in biosimilars, with projections indicating substantial growth across global markets. By 2028, biosimilars are expected to increase by 24 percent in North America, 26 percent in Europe, and 29 percent in the APAC region, according to the 2024 BCC report on Global Markets for Generic Drugs ¹. The impending loss of exclusivity for originator drugs is estimated to generate a market impact of US$192 billion, including US$59 billion from biologics ².

Biosimilars serve as cost-effective alternatives to innovative biological drugs, ensuring patient access to affordable medications. While they offer comparable quality and efficacy, they are not identical to their reference products. This requires the development of interchangeable biosimilars and ‘biobetters’ to enhance efficacy and safety profiles. 

With prices ranging from 44 to 69 percent lower than reference innovator biologics, biosimilars ensure access to affordable medication for a wider patient base. Due to the selling price sensitivity, factors like increasing bioprocess productivity and reducing costs are essential in biosimilar development and commercialization in the market ³.

Evonik’s cQrex® portfolio plays a crucial role in this landscape, providing essential media ingredients that enable bioprocess simplification and enhance productivity, leading to cost savings in biosimilar development and manufacturing. 

The cQrex® ingredients are designed to boost bioprocess performance by overcoming limitations in cell culture media formulations. For instance, cQrex® peptides are highly stable and soluble sources of glutamine, tyrosine and cysteine which allow concentrated media and higher availability of these key nutrients to cells. This leads to improved cell growth and cell-specific productivity, higher antibody titers and simplified bioprocessing by enabling the conversion from a dual-feed to a single-feed system without alkaline feed.  

The cQrex® portfolio also includes cQrex® AKG, which protects cells against oxidative damage and supports high cell viability and viable cell density.  

Evonik’s cQrex® ingredients contribute to increased overall productivity and reduced production costs, thereby enhancing the efficiency of biopharmaceutical production. By including these ingredients into the upstream bioprocess, biosimilar manufacturers can achieve more sustainable and cost-effective production of biopharmaceuticals. 

In summary, as the biosimilars market continues to expand, leveraging Evonik’s cQrex® portfolio will be essential for enhancing bioprocess productivity and ensuring patient access to affordable medications.

[1] Global Markets for Generic Drugs Global Generic Drugs Market Size and Industry Growth Analysis [Accessed 30.06.2025]

[2] The Global Use of Medicines 2024: Outlook to 2028 The Global Use of Medicines 2024: Outlook to 2028 - IQVIA [Accessed 30.06.2025]

[3] Tore K. Kvien, Kashyap Patel, Vibeke Strand, “The cost savings of biosimilars can help increase patient access and lift the financial burden of health care systems” Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism, Volume 52, 2022, 151939, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.semarthrit.2021.11.009 [Accessed 30.06.2025]