PHARMACY | GENERICS
Rolling with the Punches As they continue to navigate pandemic headwinds, generics firms look to broaden their portfolios and vertically integrate to keep competitive By Sandra Levy
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here are product supply issues. There are more competitors. There are escalating costs. And then there’s the COVID-19 pandemic, which handed generics companies a particularly rough year. Amid this head-spinning new landscape, generics companies are delving into new areas, including biosimilars and specialty medications. They are expanding their research and manufacturing facilities, forming partnerships, and putting other measures in place to ensure that they meet their customers’ expectations. To be sure, customers’ demands for a consistent supply of products is one of the biggest thorns in the side of the generics industry. And while the pandemic is mainly to blame for disrupting the supply chain, it also has accelerated a wave of innovative solutions from generics companies.
Growing to Meet Demand One of the most striking ways that these companies are meeting their customers’ demands for product supply is by making significant investments to expand their manufacturing capabilities. Parsippany, N.J.-based Ascend Labs is a case in point. John Dillaway, Ascend Labs executive vice president, said the company, which has two sizable manufacturing campuses in India dedicated solely for the U.S. market, is building an even larger third campus that will increase its manufacturing capacity. “The first block of the new campus is up and awaiting approval by the Food and Drug Administration, which has been slowed by COVID. The second block is well along in construction,” Dillaway said. “As the FDA catches up on inspections, this new facility will more than double our current capacity.” Maple Grove, Minn.-based Upsher-Smith
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Ascend Labs’ headquarters in Piscataway, N.J. The company has been investing to expand its manufacturing capabilities, building a third facility to supplement its existing ones — which include a plant in India solely focused on manufacturing for the U.S. market. also is expanding its manufacturing capabilities. “We’re doubling down on our U.S.-based manufacturing,” said Mike McBride, UpsherSmith vice president of partner relations. “We’re in the midst of completing a new addition to our Maple Grove headquarters, which will consolidate our three facilities into one campus and better position us to be more efficient and cost-effective in our manufacturing.”
Getting Creative About Supply Beyond expansion of their facilities, generics firms also have developed new strategies for production and distribution, as evidenced by Princeton, N.J.-based Dr. Reddy’s. Milan Kalawadia, Dr. Reddy’s senior vice president and head of U.S. marketing, said the lockdown that was imposed in India and other countries last March led to major
disruptions in the supply chain and logistics for the pharma industry. “These lockdowns, plus restrictions on people’s movement, adversely impacted plant operations throughout the country,” Kalawadia said. “Added to these constraints were restraints on face-to-face meetings with doctors, which is critical to domestic marketing. All of these factors challenged the usual manner of doing business for many India-based pharma companies.” Kalawadia noted that when air transportation was shut down at one point during the pandemic, a rerouting of supply chains and distribution was required. “The closures meant coming up with novel strategies for COVID-instigated production and distribution vulnerabilities,” he said. In some Indian states, lockdowns and
July 2021 DRUGSTORENEWS.COM
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