What's Hot

By Christopher Reilly, Chemical Process Industries Editor -- Purchasing, 4/5/2001

While growth in the general economy has slowed in the past six months, growth in the pharmaceutical sector of the CPI is growing at about 7%/yr, according to the consensus of analysts and buyers. And as demand for new drugs remains strong from the medical markets, buyers must constantly find better ways to get new drugs to market as quickly and as efficiently as possible.

There's no doubt that one of the most important tools a pharmaceutical company can use is to outsource certain steps of new drug discovery and production to a third party.

In the story on page 24C17, you can read about a new kind of contract supplier that has emerged in the pharmaceuticals and biotechnological market sectors. With examples from pharmaceutical leader, Eli Lilly & Co., based in Indianapolis, Ind., you can glimpse purchasing's role, ensuring quality, speed and cost reduction.