Lets face it when single use bags and filtration started to hit the Biotech market the technology and concepts were revolutionary. The market initially rejected the idea that high value product could be contained within a single use bag and that stainless steel was the way to go as it was the status quo. Now we see a rapid adoption in the market place and boy have things changed! In fact I sometimes would actually recommend the old cartridge style of filters at 30% less for applications like buffer filtration or less critical filtration applications only to be told "No we only want single use filters!!" - it was funny as I always try to offer the best solution at the best price point but in this case the customer wanted to spend 30% more to go with current trends when it really wasn't necessary. It was an interesting revelation realizing the massive change in perception toward single use processing. As Biosimilars rapidly enter the market place threatening to signifcantly decrease the market share of commercial Biotech products, we are seeing more and more companies looking into the cost pressures they are under, looking for ways to cut costs and suddenly realizing that their annual spend on single use bags and filters are adding up to staggering levels - sometimes way beyond their initial projections. In fact a colleague of mine told me an interesting story where one company after evaluating the amount of money they spent on single use bottle assemblies went into full reversal and switched back to reusable glass bottles. Imagine what a company can do if they are able to cut their single use consumables spend in HALF! Funds can immediately be reallocated to additional investments for the lab, additional personnel or even better - the company greatly increases its profitability and extends it's cash flow - for a small start up or mid range biotech looking to gain more time to develop through to phase II or phase III clinical trials this could be the difference between closing the doors too early or extending the life of the company to have the time to develop innovative new therapies. As we see manufacturing companies developing single use filtration and single use bags at lower labor costs, and offering the market place better solutions with cost competitive price structure there is a huge focus that I have noticed over the last few years on lower cost solutions. While there are many value based approaches that companies offer, with often false claims of value grandeur, many can not offer a 50% reduction in consumables spend based on price, it goes against the massive margins they need to achieve, to increase their profitability and would disrupt the current price structure of single use products in Biotech that many of the top players currently enjoy. I expect the price structure of single use filtration and bags to become more of a commodity in the future and I am already working with companies who are addressing the need of the marketplace to reduce the spend of single use, offering excellent high performing products at significantly lower cost. I think companies that focus on lowering consumable spend and aligning themselves with lower cost players will have a competitive edge in the future, and will not need to make costly changes as their processes mature toward commercialization. By partnering with manufacturing companies who are ahead of the curve with lower production costs, and the lowest pricing available on the market companies can continue to enjoy the benefits of single use in the future, remain competitive in their market segment, and significantly extend their cash position.