Sancilio leads by example in U.S.-made drug rally

Pharma industry veteran Fred Sancilio is a yes-man when it comes to making drug products in the U.S. that compete with those made off-shore. He is currently is hiring workers, recruiting scientists and investing in his Riviera Beach, FL, manufacturing plant; he expects $6 million in sales this year, a six-fold increase over last year.

His approach is not completely on-shore, however. His plant includes a prefabricated cleanroom made in China but assembled in Florida. Likewise with some of his pharma manufacturing equipment. "If I'm starting with machines that are ten times more expensive, I can't compete because my depreciation is 10 times as high," said Sancilio, who in 1979 founded aaiPharma of Wilmington, NC. He has come out of retirement to champion made-in-America drugs.

"We're forgetting how to make stuff," says Sancilio in the Palm Beach Post. And we're putting ourselves at risk. Sancilio said his tours of drug plants in China have been scary. "I have no doubt that there'll be a huge disaster. We're fooling around with lives," he added.

- see the Post article

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