Insights on Manufacturing and Distribution
“We need to be close to our customers; when our pharmaceutical and nutraceutical customers move their manufacturing bases, we have to adjust to where they are for logistical and regulatory reasons. The second factor that is critical to our customers is redundancy. Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico devastated the island and put a lot of companies based there out of action for months. That had a ripple effect. Therefore, if a hurricane or a tsunami hits one plant, we can flex to other plants.”
Ramin Cyrus, Vice President Marketing, Lonza Capsules and Health Ingredients
“If you look at the example of COVID, everybody is in awe of the ability of companies, institutions and regulators to work at the same time, rather than sequentially, to produce vaccines. However, making sure everybody that needs those vaccines can get hold of them is an interesting practical challenge. That dilemma does not just apply to COVID. There are many medicines where a disconnect exists between those patients who would like to get it, and those who are actually able to gain access.”
Shaun Chilton, CEO, Clinigen Group
“Client need got us into GMP manufacturing, and client need is driving us toward commercial API manufacturing. We recognize this need for expanding GMP API in terms of scale and capacity, and therefore, we are constructing our new facility. There are also many opportunities for clients getting new drugs from discovery into early clinical trials.”
Jeremiah Marsden, President, Cascade Chemistry
“Companies conducting their studies in China, mostly do so to have access to Chinese markets, so having facilities in both North America and China is a great benefit as it positions us to capture more growth opportunities. We can ensure the same quality standards, operating procedures and systems in both continents, while we still provide a detailed and highly experienced understanding of the regulations and requirements for drug discovery and development in both countries.”
Song Li, Chairman & CEO, Frontage Laboratories
“Trying to put social distancing in place in a manufacturing operation is not that easy and it leads to inefficiencies where you have to socially distance people or break up different processes. That affects our labor costs and bottom-line price to the customer. In addition, we have seen all packaging materials and components increase in price due to COVID. Whether it is bottles, caps, printed literature, everybody is passing on price increases.”
Joe Luke, Vice President Sales and Marketing, Reed-Lane Inc.
“Quality-driven projects prefer modular cleanrooms. When Nicos Group started to promote modular cleanrooms in North America in the 1990’s, drywall cleanrooms still had approximately 95% of the market. It was quite interesting to see, as at the same time, modular cleanrooms already had 90% of the European market. It took some time to convince the North American market of the benefits of modular cleanroom systems.”
Francesco Nigris, CEO, Nicos Group
