By William E. Weiser, Ph.D., Global Head, PDS Analytical Sciences
In today’s pharmaceutical industry, the economic strains of keeping a company completely vertically integrated are no longer feasible. Smaller, virtual drug companies simply do not have the resources necessary to translate a molecule to a drug product, and larger companies can no longer endure the financial burden of keeping these resources in-house in the face of unpredictable pipelines. As these companies turn to outsourcing to bridge these gaps, they each bring a unique set of variables to the table that needs to be considered when forecasting manufacturing operations and supply chain management.