DRUGMAKERS PLAY IN CONTRACT FIELD: Several big-name drug companies have a lesser known business serving their competitors

摘要

The business of custom phar-maceutical chemical manufacturing has come into its own in recent years because many pharmaceutical companies are focusing their efforts on the research, development, and marketing of new drugs, leaving the unglamorous step of production to third-party chemical firms happy to do the job. Yet a handful of drug companies are bucking the trend Not only do these firms continue to manufacture the bulk of their own products, they are successfully competing in the $8 billion-per-year contract manufacturing arena against the growing number of "pure play" chemical companies that want a slice of what for them is a high-margin market.