Fine Chemicals Firms Find Generics Niche

Western suppliers of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) have no generic strategy for generic drugs. Many firms offer a menu of standard generics, generating a steady cash flow to offset the vagaries of their more lucrative but riskier exclusive synthesis ventures. Others avoid generics, viewing them as a source of constant price wars with Indian and Chinese suppliers. Still others have amassed a portfolio of higher-value generic APIs, often referred to as niche generics. Priced at a premium and sometimes offered via exclusive contract to drug and biopharmaceutical companies, niche generics have much in common with exclusively synthesized, patented APIs. Although they are not protected by patents and in principle can be manufactured by anyone, many niche generics require innovative chemistry of the sort that may elude Asian competitors. Several API producers in the U.S. and Europe say niche generics have increased in importance in recent years, given the drop in ...