Pharmaceutical Ingredient Outsourcing And GMP Consulting
In the past decade, many pharmaceutical companies have outsourced ingredient production to Asian countries including China and India in the hope of lowering production costs and increasing profits. GMP consultants have however recently announced that more ingredient manufacturing is returning to the US. This article will discuss some of the reasons behind the shift back to US production bases.
When pharmaceutical companies decided to move the production if Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) to Asia, they thought they would be getting a good deal on price. This was to take advantage of the cheaper labour and rental costs that they could not get in the US. However, now manufacturers are beginning to realise that there are many costs and logistical issues which make this outsourcing more expensive than first thought.
Quality Problems
The US has been scrutinising the quality of Asian-produced drugs since the contaminated Heparin affair last year which saw death and serious illness across the nation. And we have seen a bigger demand for quality products made on American soil from consumers, healthcare professionals and the pharmaceutical companies. This is because the premises have to comply with GMP regulations and any issues can be quickly traced.
Logistics
The logistics behind outsourcing part of the drug production to a country on the opposite side of the world are massive and expensive. And now the pharmaceutical companies are truly beginning to realise the true cost of this outsourcing. Translators have to be employed, offices have to be rented or bought and employees from the US have to frequently travel to their oversees partners to check on progress. These expenses on top of the other complications that are involved in oversees outsourcing can add up.
Communication
When you outsource products overseas, communication is often the most complicated factor. This can make everyday conversations difficult, never mind important and technical information. Pharmaceutical companies also need to take into account the different time zones that the continents are on and this will slow down communication. You are putting your company at a poor position when you have to wait for time zones to align in order for you to be able to communicate with your suppliers abroad.
Pharmaceutical companies have not seen the high profits that they expected to see after outsourcing their ingredient manufacture to Asia. In fact, by moving your production back to the US you are filling your customers with confidence of quality and can make bigger profits.
Tags: APIs, gmp consultants, GMP consulting, pharmaceutical ingredients