PCS Enters API Supply Pacts in Taiwan, China

Pfizer CentreSource (PCS) has finalized supply agreements for selected steroid APIs with Asian contract manufacturers ScinoPharm Taiwan, Ltd. of Tainan, Taiwan and Shanghai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. of Shanghai, China. In November 2005 PCS made plans to transfer the manufacture of selected products to Asia as part of an effort to provide customers with an optimal balance of product cost, quality, and regulatory compliance standards.

Under the terms of both agreements, Pfizer will transfer the manufacturing of 18 steroid products during the next three years to the Asian suppliers. Pfizer will continue the early stage bioconversion operations at its plant in Kalamazoo, MI and will transfer later-stage processing to ScinoPharma and Shanghai Pharma to enable more cost-efficient production.

“By working with such well respected suppliers, PCS will be able to bring more competitively priced steroid APIs to the global market,” said Michael Kosko, president, PCS.

Doris Symonds, vice president of global marketing for PCS Fine Chemicals, said, “Our new strategy combines Pfizer’s long standing technical strengths in early-stage processing with the lower cost chemical processing capabilities of respected Asian contract manufacturers. This new approach allows us to serve the long-term needs of our customers for controlling product costs.