Stay abreast of trends and issues about materials for pharmaceuticals with a click of your mouse. An extensive collection of resources resides in the virtual community. Study information about the vast array of pharmaceutical raw materials news and trends, chemicals, drugs and other intelligence pertaining to the pharma field in business magazines, journals, drug magazines, pharmaceutical periodicals and other industry publications.

Pair up periodical information with webinars, which are seminars hosted online and accessible to almost anyone with access to the Internet. Webinars give participants the opportunity to learn about drug raw material from national and international experts. They also offer attendees an affordable way to gain wisdom about most any chemical raw material.

1. Tap pharmaceutical materials magazines and journals, many of which have worldwide readership.

2. Attend web-based seminars to keep up with pharma raw materials trends.

3. Read industry publications that examine both scientific and business angles of pharmaceutical materials.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Study online periodicals that feature pharmaceutical materials

Stay current with news about manufacturers of pharmaceutical raw materials, new developments, trends and other updates by regularly reading industry publications. Search for readership and content material with international appeal.

I recommend: Review up-to-date news that includes pharmaceutical materials issues at Pharmaceutical-Industry.Info. Add your press release to their site for international coverage of your company's news. Keep up with issues affecting industry formulation, ingredients, testing, drug delivery, regulation, outsourcing and manufacturing at PharmTech.com.

Sign up for webinars to follow pharmaceutical raw materials news and trends

Register for webcasts or webinars, usually moderated by scientific leaders and experts on topics pertaining to raw materials for pharmaceuticals and other industry subjects. Continue learning from archived webcasts of past events accessible during a specific time frame such as over a one-year period. Search for streaming audio and video programs that do not require a phone line to participate. Keep in mind that some of these events require payment while other events are free.

I recommend: Contact ComplianceOnline.com, a complete resource for raw material pharmaceutical compliance and quality. Learn industry best practices and gain knowledge from top-notch training programs. Get in touch with Accelrys to learn how to use catalysts in the chemical process for pharmaceuticals raw material. Participate in their webinar series to grasp a complete understanding of the subject matter.

Mix scientific knowledge with enterprise expertise to monitor pharmaceutical materials trends

Peruse newsletters and articles that cover various aspects of the pharmaceutical raw material industry. Gain information about the exhaustive supply of excipients and business issues affecting distribution such as regulation or development.

I recommend: Follow current news stories about pharmaceutical technology at in-pharmatechnologist.com. Sign up for their free daily or weekly newsletter. Subscribe to BioPharm International, for information about biotech strategies, regulatory compliance and methods for bio-processing.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Join forums and community platforms to connect with other professionals in the drug raw material field. Most forums feature topics with a global perspective and participation is a great way to keep up with industry news.

Manufacturers of pharmaceutical raw materials continue to develop new and better systems to provide biotech and pharmaceutical companies with the raw materials for drugs and other modalities. By sticking with the same raw material pharmaceutical, you may be missing out on new developments made by other pharmaceutical raw material providers. Consider broadening your vendor relationships to remain on the forefront of new discoveries.

More companies are providing chemical raw material through global exchanges that were not available in the past. A pharmaceutical raw material supplier may be able to supply your need for pharmaceutical raw materials in a more efficient manner, despite transportation issues and costs.

1. Contract your drug raw material requirements on a case-by-case basis

2. Build overseas relationships for obtaining raw materials for pharmaceuticals

3. Participate in organizations that promote pharma raw materials and their efficacy

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Put out a request for proposal (RFP) when you have a new project

A pharmaceutical raw material supplier may be better able to handle one of your projects better than another, while your current pharmaceutical materials provider may be the best to retain for your core research. An RFP can help you gauge the current rate of pharmaceutical raw material prices while exposing you to potentially brilliant partners.

I recommend: Cardinal Health has recently streamlined its pharma raw materials systems as well as made themselves a lean company with competitive pricing. Noah Technologies Corporation is an ISO 9001 chemical raw material supplier with a strong commitment to high purity chemicals for research. You can search their catalog online.

Look around the world for exciting pharmaceutical materials opportunities

Countries around the world are often make advances in raw materials for drugs and other biotech research that is far out passing their American peers. Find a U.S.-based logistics firm to take advantage of open trade markets and the opportunities they bring for you company to get the best pharmaceutical raw material prices and products on time for your market.

I recommend: Sentry Logistics is a leading pharmaceutical raw material logistics firm that can provide cold storage and logistics for the biotech and pharma raw materials industry. AcuTemp specializes in custom pharmaceutical materials delivery systems. They work with clients to find the lowest cost solutions for moving and storing raw materials for pharmaceuticals.

Know who is making the progress in your industry through pharma raw materials industry associations

The biotech and pharmaceutical industries can become behemoths to keep up with. Emerging companies are constantly coming up with new and better ways to provide and use pharmaceutical materials. By joining and remaining active in an industry association, you will be in a position to often be the first to hear about breakthroughs in the industry.

I recommend: The Association of Petrochemicals Producers in Europe is a trade industry group for drug raw material and other biotech indutries with a global membership. In addition to a network of industry contacts that are available through memberships, you also can subscribe to a newsletter that present emerging technologies. PHRMA is the largest group of pharmaceutical and biotech leaders in the U.S. They too have a regular newsletter.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Hire a raw material pharmaceutical consultant to help you navigate the global trading platforms until you develop your own foreign contacts and master the trade restrictions and requirements thoroughly.

Making the most of pharmaceutical raw materials means acquiring resources on an wide range of industry issues. For instance, you can explore the world of bulk drugs, fine chemicals, formulations and other excipients. In addition, you might discover best practices in packaging and shipping products, or investigate the vast array of pharma machinery for making tablets, creams, lotions, injection products and any other pharmaceutical raw material.

Accessing white papers ranks high on the priority list for learning more about any drug raw material. Additionally, knowing the standards for inspecting pharma raw materials is an important task when dealing with chemical raw materials. Using safe trading methods are paramount to individuals and companies in the industry. Consider these suggestions to be sure you're making the most of pharmaceutical raw materials.

1. Study white papers about raw material pharmaceutical.

2. Review safe trade practices and raw material inspection standards.

3. Target the international market for pharma raw materials.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Examine white papers that take an analytical look at pharmaceuticals raw materials

Read white papers and other types of comprehensive reports to stay current with pharmaceutical materials, including pharma raw materials. Use these reports as benchmarks to measure your progress compared to industry developments and standards.

I recommend: Communicate with KnowPharma.com for an in-depth listing of white papers for raw material pharmaceutical. Contact PharmaManufacturing.com to find up-to-date industry analysis, white papers and new product information.

Explore ways to trade safely and learn standards for pharmaceutical materials inspections

Understand safe trading practices such as how to find trustworthy trading partners. Discover how to report suspicious manufacturers and ways to verify a company. In addition, learn about guidelines inspectors use to determine if pharmaceutical raw materials contain the qualities they claim to possess.

I recommend: Contact the World Health Organization to read their evaluation about safe trade for pharmaceutical products. The report includes distribution, reliability and recommendations for participating parties such as manufacturers and traders. Study the Guide to Inspections of Bulk Pharmaceutical Chemicals, a comprehensive reference guide by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Gain knowledge about the standards FDA inspectors uphold when it comes to bulk pharmaceutical chemicals.

Access the global market of raw materials for drugs

Discover various pharmaceutical excipients and ingredients (or a chemical raw material) such as herbal raw material and animal extracts. Connect with global manufacturers and suppliers of chemical raw materials.

I recommend: Work with TheMedica.com, a worldwide marketplace for health care. Search through an exhaustive list of more than 1,500 raw material pharmaceutical products at Alibaba.com.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  When you deal with manufacturers of raw materials for pharmaceuticals, the companies need to include a team of experts such as engineers and total quality management personnel.

Pharmaceutical raw materials are integral to the biotech and pharmaceutical industries which work to process such materials into more functional and capable products. By becoming familiar with pharmaceutical raw materials key terms, you can learn more about such materials, as well as potential advancements in the industry which allow you to offer more to clientele and customers.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Purity

End products for the pharmaceutical market must meet extremely high purity standards. Even the most minute particles must be completely extracted. When materials such as tablets and capsules are intended for human consumption, particles allowable in other end-products can create a potential crisis if not detected and removed. To maintain product purity, effective strategies often include a combination of magnetic separation, metal detection, and/or X-ray inspection equipment.

I recommend: A discussion on the importance of maintaining purity in pharmaceutical raw materials is can be found at PharmaceuticalOnline.com.

Formulations

Pharmaceutical formulation is the process in which different chemical substances, including the active drug, are combined to produce a final medicinal product.

I recommend: For information about more recent pharmaceutical formulations which have been developed for raw materials, consider the information presented at SRI.com.

White papers

White papers are able to offer unbiased information and analysis of pharmaceutical raw materials, business concepts and challenges related to the industry. They are also utilized as marketing and sales documents.

I recommend: Visit PharmaVOICE.com for in-depth explorations of white papers.

Active pharmaceutical ingredients

Active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) are the substances or materials found in a drug which allow it to be pharmaceutically active. Drugs are typically made up of the API as well as a pharmaceutically inert substance which suspends the API.

I recommend: TEVA is a supplier of active pharmaceutical ingredients.

Fine chemicals

Fine chemical substances are found to be pure and single substances. They are commercially produced by chemical reaction processes to allow for highly specialized applications. Fine chemicals may be used as active pharmaceutical ingredients, their intermediates, biocides, or specialty chemicals which are often utilized specifically for technical applications.

I recommend: Advancements in the world of fine chemicals are explored at ACS.org.

Specialty chemicals

Specialty chemicals are pure chemical substances produced for the purpose of establishing pharmaceutical raw materials and chemical technical applications. Common examples of specialty chemicals include inks, performance-enhancing additives, special coatings and photographic chemicals.

I recommend: Additional information about specialty chemicals and their manufacturing process can be found at Hoovers.com. Examples of some specialty chemicals are listed at BhuvarTech.com.