The Booming Biopharma Used Equipment Market - Liquidity Services

Over time the secondary market for pharmaceutical equipment has become much larger as organizations have become more comfortable selling their surplus and buyers have become more accepting of purchasing used equipment. Overall, there has been a steady 15% increase in the amount of inventory coming into the secondary marketplace every two to three years; this is mainly attributed to M&A (downsizing and lab closure) as well as mainstream adoption.  Particularly in the United States and Europe the used equipment market is booming with the most popular buyer markets located in the Northeast, Bay Area, Pacific NW, and United Kingdom. Meanwhile, emerging markets including China, Brazil and India, are expected to grow 20-30% in the next five years. Simply put, the surplus marketplace for pharma equipment is going global, and fast!

With this continuous growth however, comes a need for competent vendors who have the right policies in place when it comes to remarketing surplus equipment. This is especially important for data privacy, health and safety standards, export regulations, FDA regulations and buyer screening processes. This topic was recently covered in an article by In-Pharma Technologist in which Liquidity Services provided expert commentary on best practices and policies that need to be considered for the following areas:

• Data privacy: Some equipment stores data, personal data, patient data, health data, or even proprietary or confidential data related to the use of the machine. Data is very strictly regulated and should not be left on machines sold in the secondary marketplace
• Health and Safety standards: A lot of pharmaceutical equipment is used to process or manufacture chemicals or biological properties that are regulated as hazardous or otherwise. The equipment should be cleaned according to industry standards prior to sale. Occasionally, a certificate to this effect is required prior to importing used medical equipment.
• FDA-regulated equipment: In the US the FDA regulates the sale of certain equipment, such as tablet manufacturing machines. Certificates must be obtained by buyers to ensure the sale is in accordance with FDA regulations.

As pharmaceutical organizations continue to take advantage of the secondary market, it’s important they protect themselves with best practices and compliant processes. To learn more about how Liquidity Services can implement the proper procedures needed for your surplus pharmaceutical equipment please contact us.