Sector highlights: Cambrex interview

Simon Edwards, VP, Global Sales and Business Development, Cambrex, tells us about their opportunities and challenges of the year.

1. What has been the biggest opportunity of 2017 for your company/organisation?

Over the past 12 months we have fully integrated PharmaCore located in High Point, NC, which Cambrex acquired in September last year. This acquisition enhanced our portfolio of small molecule API services and complements our existing large scale, multi-purpose manufacturing facilities in the US and Europe.

We recently announced that we are investing $24 million in a new facility to manufacture highly potent APIs at our Charles City, Iowa plant. This expansion is in line with Cambrex’s commitment to ongoing investment in small molecule manufacturing, as well as responding to the rising number of APIs that require specialised handling due to potency and toxicity.

Additionally, we have made significant investments in capacity, technology and infrastructure at our facilities in Milan, Italy, High Point, USA and Karlskoga, Sweden.

2. Which factors have driven the biggest changes to the industry in 2017?

Re-shoring of projects from the east is currently supporting the growth of western CMOs, however, the way CMOs operate must evolve. Companies are facing a choice of whether to expand organically or strengthen through M&A activity. We have moved past the stage where projects are judged solely on cost and price, but the whole value proposal, and one where quality is back again at the top of the list.

We have also seen high demand for new NCEs, both those in the clinic and approved, driving investment in capacity and the underlying picture is still one of growth in the small molecule space.

3. What market trends have been influential for 2017?

The need for specialists and experts is as important now as ever – merely being a company with “capacity for hire” is not an option. Investment into the industry is also on the rise, with CMOs being seen as valuable assets and there have been a number of acquisitions to build organisations with multiple capabilities. The trend towards becoming a “one stop shop” is still in vogue despite numerous attempts in the past to leverage value from the concept. For CMOs, the concept of being able to forge alliances with clients for longer and offer multiple allied services is attractive, but for customers the driver will always be to seek out expertise for the appropriate stages of development. It is impossible to predict where the industry may be in the next forty years, but even if the industry is indeed cyclical in nature, and the past ends up repeating itself, then there is even more need for CMOs to continue to listen to their customers, invest in capacity and technology where they need to and keep looking ahead.

4. What have been the biggest challenges of the year?

The FDA approved the highest number of NCEs in 2015 since 1999, and there now exists the fastest growing small molecule clinical pipeline reported in the last 20 years, with more small molecules in Phase I, II and III than ever before.

The challenge for Cambrex, and other manufacturers looking to capitalise on this opportunity, is having the capacity to meet the demands of the market. Cambrex has a proactive approach to investment and matching it to forecasted future market needs, and since 2012 we have invested approximately $200m in facility expansions, equipment, technology and EHS upgrades to ensure that these demands can be met, and standards in quality, customer service, flexibility and reliability are not only maintained but enhanced.