PHARMA SUPPLIERS BRACE FOR DOWNTURN

Abstract

WITH THE GLOBAL financial infrastructure collapsing around them, executives at CPhI, the annual European fine chemicals conference, were watching out for damage to their pharmaceutical industry customers. Of particular concern in Frankfurt at last week’s meeting was the stability of cash-hungry biotech companies. Companies serving the drug industry typically consider their business to be recession-proof. Yet attendees at CPhI noted that this particular crisis (see page 7) is coinciding with a challenging time for big pharma firms. Their discovery engines have stalled, and several key drugs will lose patent protection in the next two years. Some CPhI attendees said their pharma customers are becoming more frugal with research dollars. Although these customers are also outsourcing more of their manufacturing, the overall drug pipeline is drying up. News that Pfizer has cut research programs and GlaxoSmithKline is slashing research jobs only added to the uncertain mood at the trade show (see below). “Over th...