Thursday - Chemical & Engineering News - American Chemical ...

INFORMEX Show Daily | Thursday February 21 2013 | Anaheim Convention Center Anaheim California 23
In a session Wednesday, Lalit Baregama, CEO and president of Syngeny, briefed the audience
about the latest applications of specialty chemicals to drive technical innovation.
From API Sourcing page 1
tion technology skills for data and customer management, and political stability.
Due to regulatory challenges and escalating costs, Speace suggested that
companies wanting to do business with India consider the environmental, health,
and safety records of suppliers there. Additionally, they should find out whether
the drug is licensed by the Indian government, whether the company has ISO
certifications and regulatory inspections. “When asking how committed your
supplier is, you should determine operating and regulatory history, investments in
facilities and talent, presence in your market, and customer support programs in
place,” he said.
From Green Chemistry page 1
In the pharmaceutical supply chain, outsourcing is driven by cost, flexibility
requirements, and increasing capabilities of contract manufacturing organizations.
Companies must design sustainability into products and processes from inception
and have early, frequent assessment, Constable said, adding “Finding the right
balance is challenging.”
Green chemistry spurs innovation when companies think about improving the
environment while obtaining equal or better performance from green processes and
remaining economically viable. The principles of green chemistry are maximizing
resource efficiency, eliminating or minimizing hazards, designing systems holistically,
and using life cycle thinking, according to Constable.
Last year’s National Science Foundation’s Sustainable Chemistry Workshop concluded
that systems level thinking is required, more fundamental research should be
use-inspired, and green is not synonymous with sustainable. Furthermore, efficiency
is necessary but not sufficient, and sustainability research and education should be
multi-disciplinary and collaborative. “We have to develop a different set of skills,”
Constable said, adding that the process can be streamlined by finding the right metrics
“that are simple, meaningful, essential, and based on systems already in place.”
The business of green chemistry has to emphasize how new or replacement markets
will affect revenues, how greater efficiency and automation will reduce costs, how
business and government processes will impact risks, how intangibles will affect the
company’s image, and how new strategies will affect value and quality.
ACS roundtables are showing companies how to collaborate non-competitively,
address technical challenges, develop decision-making tools, and add resources to
the supply chain.
“Chemical companies have to understand that the risks are real, early
design makes green chemistry workable, and resources are available,”
Constable concluded.
Thomas Speace, president and CEO of Neuland Laboratories
India’s high degree of government control lends itself to bureaucracy and
corruption, Speace said. “Patience is more than a virtue,” he added. “Invest the
time to build relationships.”
China is even bigger and more diversified, with unique cultures and languages
in different provinces, according to Hui-Yin (Harry) Li, president of Wilmington
PharmaTech Co. Most API production takes place along the Pacific coast where
water for manufacturing is vital.
Li cautioned that sometimes doing business depends on how American companies
can support the capabilities of API suppliers in China to overcome deficiencies.
“You need to know the boss and how he operates the place,” he said. “You have
to understand the company’s relationship with the local government, the suppliers’
resources, and whether they can invest in facilities and sustain growth.”
API producers in China evolved from small town-owned chemical shops, cityowned
local pharmaceutical companies, trading companies, new ventures managed
by “returnees,” shops run by academics, and a combination. Some companies fail
quickly, so companies doing business with them have to be vigilant regarding recent
performance, current assets and capabilities, as well as the backgrounds of the
people and organizations running them.