Can you give an overview of IMCD’s pharmaceutical division, particularly in the US, and what have been the main highlights for the company over the past 12 months?

NH: There are many similarities between IMCD’s businesses in Asia and the US, particularly regarding the supplier partners we represent. As a distributor, we represent producers of excipients, and many of our leading partners work with us globally. In terms of developments in the Americas in 2023, IMCD established activities in Argentina; acquired Maprin in Chile; acquired Allianz in Columbia, a distributor focused on APIs, which very well complemented our existing business and excipients; and acquired Sachs Chemical in Puerto Rico, which complemented our business in dry powder excipients with their specialty solvents portfolio.

SV: In the US specifically, a main highlight in 2023 was expanding IMCD’s business with some of our existing suppliers, such as BASF. The company also onboarded new suppliers, including Fuji Chemical and Innophos in the excipient space, and Lonza and Wacker in the active nutraceutical ingredient (ANI) space. We also entered the fermentation space with Procelys. What is IMCD’s growth strategy in the Americas moving forward?

SV: IMCD will focus on expanding our presence in the API, agrochemical synthesis, nutraceutical, and biopharma areas, as we believe these are the segments where there will be great growth potential. We do not yet have a synthesis business line in the US and would want to bring that capability to the country. We have a base for nutraceuticals, but we would like to expand more into the ANI space. What are the main takeaways of IMCD’s Trends Commentary "Shaping Pharma's Future"?

SV: The pharma industry is characterized by groundbreaking innovations, regulatory shifts, and evolving consumer expectations, and IMCD understands that we need to stay ahead of the curve in this dynamic landscape to achieve success. IMCD aims to expand our nutraceutical offerings, specifically strengthening our presence in the ANI space. The company is taking a holistic approach where we want to not only bring ANI to our customers but also have a focus on how the ANI will ultimately be delivered to the consumer.

Our latest commentary highlights how patient-centricity, sustainable solutions, and innovation underpin the key trends that are shaping the future of the industry, including the impact of AI and the evolution of biopharma drugs. How is IMCD playing a role in green chemistry solutions?

NH: As a distributor, we have a small part in the supply chain in terms of logistics coming from our warehouses, but most of the impact comes from our suppliers. As our suppliers give us information, we share that with the customer. The evolution of this would be to bring all of the sustainability information from our suppliers together in any formulations that we work on – being able to inform the customer of the footprint of entire formulations. What will be the main catalyst for the life sciences industry in 2024?

NH: Most of IMCD’s business today is on the small molecule, solid dosage, and traditional pharma side, and we still have an embryonic footprint in the bio space. Although Novo Nordisk recently announced its deal with Catalent, I believe most of the M&A activity we will see in 2024 will be in the biopharma arena. Recently there has also been less flight of manufacturing capacity from the US compared to a few years ago and there is now a stabilization, and we hope to see the reshoring of central pharmaceutical ingredients gain momentum moving forward.

SH: A trend we are seeing gaining momentum in the US pharma industry is price control. Innovators are under price pressures, which might impact the viability of products and then the number of products coming to market. These price controls could be counterproductive to the reshoring of pharmaceuticals, and there is an interesting balance policymakers have to achieve. What are IMCD’s key priorities for 2024?

SV: IMCD will be investing in lab expansions in the US to increase our capacity and capabilities. The company will persist in investing in our people and we plan to increase our on-the-ground team to continue to add value for our customers. We are also prioritizing further strengthening our digital offering to complement the labs and people on the ground.