I recently came across two interesting articles in recent issues of Contract Pharma. One was their annual outsourcing survey, which I find often dovetails with our experiences at Neuland. The second article was green chemistry-related, a frequent topic here at PharmaNotes.
Pharma Outsourcing Survey
Contractpharma.com published their 2016 Outsourcing Survey earlier this summer, and the results were not surprising: pharma outsourcing is on the rise. One of the reasons? Pharma is – more and more frequently – turning to outside suppliers to provide expertise lacking in-house.
For virtual firms, this may seem a no-brainer, but the phenomenon isn’t reserved to just virtual companies. Focusing on core competencies in-house and outsourcing the rest has become a fact of life, and the outsourcing and allied pharma industry has adapted to keep pace with this new reality.
It’s good for us as a contract pharma provider – yes, but it also demands we deliver on the promise of subject matter expertise. For Neuland, that’s pharmaceutical chemistry. It’s perhaps a bit easier in our case, since we’re a “pure-play” pharma API manufacturer – complex pharmaceutical chemistry is what we do.
Some interesting takeaways from the survey:
- 73% of respondents indicated increasing demand for outsourcing this year
- Top reason for outsourcing: focus on core competencies
- Top outsourcing challenge: communication and culture
- Second-rated challenge: a tie between documentation and vendor qualification/selection
Read the article here.
APIs in Manufacturing Effluent
The other piece I found interesting was Limiting APIs in Manufacturing Effluent. It’s an important topic, and a key aspect of green chemistry – something we’ve written about frequently. It also ties in with our last post on trends in analytical R&D, in which technology is making available the tools to definitively identify the presence of trace substances:
“The improved precision and accuracy of analytical methods for trace organic chemicals, which include pharmaceutical products and many other types of consumer products, has led to concerns about potential exposure to humans, animals and aquatic life.”
While a concept such as zero liquid discharge (ZLD) may be an end-all-and-be-all goal, it’s the stepwise advances and understandings of our impact on the environment such as those outlined in this article that will eventually get us to greener chemistry.
You can read the article at contractpharma.com.
