Pfizer considers outsourcing 30% of manufacturing, mostly to Asia

[The Straight Story]

Pfizer considers outsourcing 30% of manufacturing, mostly to Asia

HONG KONG (Dow Jones)--Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. (PFE:
Pfizer Inc said Friday it is looking to outsource as much as 30% of its manufacturing, much of it to Asia.
Pfizer, based in New York City, now outsources about 15% of its manufacturing capabilities. The company aims to double that figure, as part of cost-cutting measures, it said at an investor presentation in Hong Kong, which was broadcast over the Internet.

Pfizer didn't give a timetable, or specific Asian countries it is targeting.

"For a lot of this work, it makes sense to outsource to lower cost areas, from New York or elsewhere in the U.S. to Asia," a company representative said during the presentation.

The outsourcing plans follow Pfizer's announcement at the beginning of the year that it would shut down manufacturing sites in Brooklyn, N.Y. and Omaha, Neb. and sell a third manufacturing site in Feucht, Germany. These cuts, along with the closure of several research sites, were part of a companywide plan to cut its worldwide workforce by 10%, or 10,000 jobs, and save US$2 billion.

Pfizer isn't the only pharmaceutical company to talk about such a move. AstraZeneca said recently that it would start shifting manufacturing operations to Asia. Like other pharmaceutical companies, Pfizer is facing tepid growth amid encroaching generic competition and the lack of clear blockbusters in its drug pipeline.

http://tinyurl.com/2nyjrd

[williesgirl]

1. And Americans are allowed to buy drugs from other countries, but they can make them there? Bullshit

rec'd

[Mythsaje]

3. Bingo...

We can't even trust our pet products and toys made overseas. Now they want to make our MEDICINES there?

Lovely.

[skepticscott]

12. The difference is (at least in theory)

that all drugs to be SOLD in the US have to meet the same FDA standards (or equivalent standards from someplace like the EU), no matter where they're made, and those standards are more stringent than those for pet food or toys. In practice, the FDA is becoming as eviscerated and impotent as the CPSC, and is largely if not completely subservient to lobbying efforts by the pharmaceutical industry. Count on scandals involving impure, ineffective or adulterated drugs coming from overseas, and legislation subsequently passed by Congress to exempt the drug companies from liability.

[Deja Q]

10. Last I checked, we're not allowed to get cheap Canadian drugs because they may be dangerous or fake

:wtf:

We've seen the pattern of rubbish Chinese products. They are not playing fair in a globalized community.

So why are they rewarded with more jobs?

[knitter4democracy]

2. Great. More job losses for Michigan.

I wonder if they'll be shutting down the plants in Portage. *sigh* This is bad.

[high density]

4. Coming soon: Viagra with lead supplement?

Are they not making enough profits already?

[aquart]

6. I thought they made that in Ireland?

Am I thinking about something else?

[high density]

13. Sorry, it was meant as a joke not as a factual comment

But I never should be surprised by DUers taking stuff way too seriously.

[SoCalDem]

17. how to REALLY put some lead in that "pencil"

:rofl:

[Joanne98]

5. Nationalize them!

[flyarm]

7. ohhh goody..then men can have lead in their viagra!!...

sorry i couldn't help myself!!

gigggling here..this is serious...

this is not good...unless you "want" lead in your viagra.

i sure as hell don't want lead in my cholesterol meds!

fly

[MidwestTransplant]

8. Can't buy drugs from Canada because they could be dangerous but it's ok if our drug companies make

them in Asia.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

9. This is a good place for this reminder: F.D.A. Is Unable to Ensure Drugs Are Safe, Panel Is Told

Source: New York Times

The Food and Drug Administration cannot guarantee the safety of the nation’s drug supply because it inspects few foreign drug manufacturers and the inspections it does carry out abroad are less rigorous than those performed in this country, witnesses told a Congressional subcommittee yesterday.

While foreign companies manufacture as much as 80 percent of all ingredients used by American drug makers, the drug agency’s record keeping is so poor that it cannot say which of those have not been inspected, according to the testimony before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.

“More than nine years after we issued our last report on this topic, F.D.A.’s effectiveness in managing the foreign drug inspection program continues to be hindered by weaknesses in its data systems,” Marcia Crosse, director of health care for the Government Accountability Office, said in a statement to the committee.

The agency is supposed to inspect domestic drug makers every two years, but there is no such requirement for foreign suppliers, even though foreign factories are more likely to have quality problems, witnesses said.

More: http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Lone_Star_Dem/53

[Deja Q]

11. Will we see steep price cuts because they're made far more cheaply?

[Bruce McAuley]

14. Dream on! The shafting will continue...

Big Pharma is Big Money.
BIG money!
We here in America have the money, and we pay through our noses for drugs, as SICKO shows.
From personal observation, our drug supply is already breached and cheap Chinese and other "ringers" are already integrated into our local drug stores. It's not hard to figure out where and how, since nobody watches the distribution system except the drug companies themselves.
The drug companies have figures about EVERY prescription written by EVERY doctor, data the FDA never has had, lack of manpower and motivation being the reasons.
The drug co. reps see the doctors once a month, and they KNOW how many prescriptions for SCABAMAX the doctor has written that last month, and they get rewards for more prescriptions of SCABAMAX each month.
Not to mention the guys who provide the pills in the wholesale side of the business are certainly skimming the expensive lots and replacing the pills with Chinese "ringers".
Nobody's watching, it's easy.
I've seen the fakes down here on the retail/consumer level, the only question is who's getting rich at our expense?
It's OK to pay low prices if you're buying Indian pills, for example, as long as you are CERTAIN that's what they REALLY are.
Even 2 different types of generics can have different ingredients in them. My wife is sensitive enough to be able to tell the "ringers" from the real thing, especially relating to pain meds, and estimates maybe 10 to 15% are fakes or do nothing. She can tell on the others too, as well as the fact the dyes in pills cause an allergic reaction in her. She's also got the most sensitive sense of taste of anyone I've run across in a long time.
Sensitivity has its downsides as well as its benefits.
We SHOULD have a government certified facility to produce commonly used drugs for consumers to buy at cost.
You want optional pills/ Buy from Pfizer, who will likely be a cheap generic producing company sometime in the near future.
Damn legalized drug peddlers, anyway!

Bruce

[FatDave]

15. Of course we will! Don't those corporations always pass the savings on to the consumer?

[FatDave]

16. Color me shocked.

No wait, not shocked. What's the opposite of shocked? Yeah, color me that.