The rise and fall of the U.S. CMO

News this year of the sale of PCI Synthesis and Ampac Fine Chemicals to French and South Korean companies, respectively, came as something of a surprise. Both drug contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs) had been doing well, investing in growth and honing a focus on technologies and services that are in high demand. On the other hand, the deals are only the latest in a string of acquisitions marking an evolution in the pharmaceutical chemical service sector toward large global operations offering a menu of services from early-stage process design to finished-drug manufacturing. Notably, many of these large operations are based outside the U.S. In the U.S., by contrast, independent pharmaceutical CMOs have nearly vanished. Many of the acquiring firms are European, which is not surprising given that contract pharmaceutical chemical production was pioneered by family-owned European companies such as Fabbrica Italiana Sintetici and Olon in Italy and Hovione in Portugal.