Discussion Points

This years CPhI Worldwide, the leading exhibition on pharmaceutical ingredients and allied industries, takes place from October 13 - 15, in Madrid, Spain. Ahead of the event, where pharma professionals from over 125 countries will gather to discuss the industry's most important trends, developments and innovations, CHEManager Europe spoke to industry leaders about their perspective on the industries trends and how they correlate with technology developments and business strategy.

"The pharmaceutical industry continues to focus on growth through product innovation and cost control. These two forces are driving industry decisions today, particularly in light of the challenging world economy."
Peter Seufer-
Wasserthal, Sr. Vice President, 
Codexis Pharmaceuticals

"Both areas - exclusive manufacturing and generic APIs - demand much flexibility not only at commercial but also at industrial level. Most of our projects and products behave like moving targets, and in order to remain successful, we are in continuous change, sharing risks with our customers."
Roger Laforce, General Manager M&S, R&D, Logistics, Fabbrica Italiana Sintetici

"I strongly believe that the pharmaceutical industry will change significantly. Various companies are still at the stage to develop new strategies in order to assure continued growth and high profit margins. Obvious trends are the increasing number of highly potent drugs, innovations coming from emerging pharma companies and the high growth rate for sales of generic drugs."
Andreas Stolle Head of Business Line Pharma, Saltigo

"We increasingly have to look at our processes and services from the perspective of our customers, proactively research business trends, generate added value through specialist knowledge and give problem-oriented advice. In short -
we must take on this transformation trend from contractor and order executioner to strategic partner and problem solver."
Gert Diederich, Managing Director, Hameln Pharmaceuticals

"Tough economic conditions, fewer drug approvals, over-capacity and competition from Asian manufacturers - all contribute to a general reduction in margins and profitability - thus it becomes clear why contract manufacturers are looking to expand from traditional APIs into the annual double digit growth rate HPAPI market."
Gilles Cottier, President of 
SAFC Global