Sourcing APIs in Emerging Nations

wo years after filing a drug application, the FDA gives you the green light for your new medicine and you formally launch the product. But your work is far from done. In a few years, you can look forward to expiring patents, and if you don’t have a new blockbuster drug to maximize its sales exclusivity rights in the pipeline, you'll have a revenue gap of several billion dollars to fill. So what can you do about it? Develop a plan to reduce costs now so that you can maintain your competitive advantage in the future.

Where do you start on such a daunting task? Many pharma companies have begun by abandoning once-sacrosanct active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and evaluating sources for newer ones that promise lower costs.