When I first went to meet the co-founders of Neion Bio (Sam Levin and Dimi Kellari), they told me to meet them at “Rockefeller.” I called to say I had arrived, only to discover, somewhat embarrassingly, that I was at Rockefeller Center, standing in the heart of Midtown Manhattan, not Rockefeller University. In my defense, after more than 20 years in generics and biosimilars, I had little reason to know Rockefeller University, a PhD-only research institution and one of the most Nobel Prize–rich centers in biomedical science in the world. Why would I? The type of science associated with Rockefeller University is not typically linked to biosimilars, which are, at their core, lower-cost versions of already approved biologic medicines.

But as I learned more, I was fascinated by the potential for Neion Bio’s platform across many segments of biotech. This is especially meaningful for biosimilars, a lower cost version of innovative biotech products. The ability of the platform to produce lower-cost recombinant proteins without massive capital expenditures is tailor-made for this space. Moreover, the maturation of Neion’s platform is occurring alongside seismic regulatory shifts that are dramatically lowering the cost of developing follow-on biologics. The combination of reduced development costs and access to a low-CAPEX platform greatly expands the addressable market for this critical segment in healthcare.

Historically, due to the cost of development, companies focused on biosimilars for blockbuster biologics exceeding $3 billion in global revenue. But as clinical requirements are reduced or waived, the opportunity set is expanding rapidly. IQVIA estimates that 118 biologics are expected to lose patent protection between 2025 and 2034, representing a $232 billion addressable market. Yet as of June 2024, only 12 of these molecules have biosimilars in development, leaving the remaining 106 in what IQVIA describes as a “biosimilar void.” Furthermore, this does not include the many biologics that have already lost patent protection but were bypassed due to the high development costs and the lack of “perceived” ROI.

In addition, the infrastructure required to support biologics manufacturing is highly capital intensive and that holds true for both innovative and follow-on biologics. As a result, most companies either develop and manufacture products or focus on commercialization. Even those that attempt to do both rely heavily on partnerships. These licensing and distribution models can be challenging, as they dilute profits; one company’s profit becomes another’s cost of goods. In the biosimilar market where price is the primary differentiator, this constrains competitiveness and ultimately limits the ability of biosimilars to reduce the overall cost of healthcare.

At Neion, we are highly cognizant of this dynamic. Because of the nature of our platform, we can offer partners in the biosimilar space unique pricing flexibility while still maintaining what we believe will be a uniquely profitable enterprise. Companies that have not invested in the capital-intensive infrastructure required to develop and produce biosimilars can now access much of that capability and capacity through our platform and benefit from production economics that enable uniquely low cost of goods.

Looking back, it’s somewhat fitting that I went to the wrong Rockefeller here in New York City. Rockefeller Center represents scale and commercialization; Rockefeller University represents discovery and scientific innovation. Neion sits at the intersection — converting breakthrough science into scalable, cost-efficient manufacturing for one of the most price-sensitive areas of healthcare. In doing so, we have the potential not only to reshape biosimilars, but to expand access to biologic medicines in a way the industry has long promised but struggled to deliver.