Contract Pharmacal

Source: Healthcare Digital

Date :19/02/2008 00:31:05

As a family run business headquartered in Hauppage NY, Contract Pharmacal Corporation distributes its products to companies around the globe

Written by Lucy Mowatt and Produced by Kate Bridgman

In 1971, John and Harriet Wolf set up a company that was to become a major provider of over-the-counter, prescribed and nutritional drugs to healthcare markets all over the globe. Mark Wolf, COO of Contract Pharmacal, explains proudly: “My Dad worked for another generic drugs company and decided that he could do it better and started Contract.” The company is still family owned and has customers as far away as London and China.

CPC has a major manufacturing presence, with 125,000 square feet of production space based in Long Island. 52,000 square feet have recently been added to this site which has extended the amount of room available for laboratory work and product development. The corporate offices in Hauppage are also undergoing expansion which will increase space for warehousing, packaging and administration, which will enable CPC to respond to growing demand for its products.

“It will give us space to grow and I’ll be able to increase the amount of tablets and capsules I’ll be able to manufacture,” Mr Wolf says. “I’m sure more people will be needed to do that. Right now, I’m not at capacity in terms of the amount of people that I have either; I work five days a week, 24 hours a day. My second shift is a full shift but my third shift is skeletal and we could beef it up. Instead, however, I am adding more space so that I can keep work within the first and second shift,” he continues.

Specialized R&D

Indeed it is easy to see why CPC might need extra production room. At the latest count, the company recorded that it is manufacturing more than 1000 different product lines. Not only that, but its R&D department is working to develop between 50 to 60 new items which are not just in standard capsule or powdered forms but also creams and ointments.

With the opening of extended facilities the company will look to amalgamate its research staff into one department: “That will be centralised into a group doing compounding, blending, compression, drying and anything to do with developing a product in a specific area and that will be overseen by a director,” explains Mr. Wolf.

As well as the medicines and drugs themselves, CPC is able to offer packaging and marketing solutions to its customers. “It gives benefits to my customers,” Mr. Wolf adds. “They have a one-stop shop; they can come to me and I can do everything for them.” He points out that although CPC are capable of offering a complete service, it can tailor the service according to customer requirements.

Private label

“A lot of the things are done domestically and then exported out of here,” say Mr. Wolf. The company’s private label products are often purchased by companies within the US and then exported on. “We sell to a variety of countries; we sell to South American companies, Chinese companies,” he continues. These contracts have, for the most part, come about thanks to the internet, adverts and word of mouth. Although CPC does some advertising and trade shows, the best advertising comes from satisfied customers who pass the word on.

Working with supplements and drugs, quality is of paramount importance. Mr. Wolf says that he is pleased with the introduction of Current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMPs) because CPC has always been compliant with FDA regulations. “We’ve been following those guides for a long time with our nutritionals as well as with our prescriptions and OTCs and it helps me because I’ve been doing things that way for a long time but my competitors may not have been,” he says.

The company’s dedicated Quality Control and Quality Assurance department regularly audit the quality procedures that are in place. “We have been audited by the FDA and we’re also NFS certified – we’re audited by them three times a year and we also do internal audits ourselves. We have weekly training meetings and do GMP training throughout the year,” explains Mr. Wolf.

In order to make sure that this quality is passed onto the customer, CPC’s packaging is sealed using the latest microwave technology. “What happens is that the foil goes into this machine and it heats up the foil; so that it sticks to the top of the bottle...it’s much more secure than the old technology; you can’t just take the seal off,” continues the COO. Although the initial expense of the machinery is high, the increased security which is passed onto the customer results in increased peace of mind and satisfaction.

And it’s not just products leaving the company that are audited for quality; from the moment materials enter CPC’s facilities they are audited for quality and safety. These materials are sourced from all over the globe and Mark Wolf explains that the quality of these has to be ensured. “Prior to getting a new material, it has to go through a strenuous approval process before we use it,” he says. Quality is strictly maintained from the beginning of production to the end.

Future developments

Around 400 people work for CPC and staff retention is high. The company pays its employees a fair wage and trains them to a high standard. The majority of its people come from within the pharmaceuticals industry and there is the chance for internal promotion where appropriate to make sure that skills are not unnecessarily lost to the competition.

Green manufacturing and facilities have also been implemented by CPC; a company that does all that it can to stay ahead of the market. “We have high efficiency lighting, high efficiency heating and electricity units that are cheaper to run and don’t generate as much heat. We are striving to become more efficient so we don’t burn as much electricity which is a cost to the environment and the company,” Mark Wolf says. Not only that, but CPC is in the process of looking for opportunities to cogenerate its own power, which will not only save money but ensure that the company is more energy efficient.

Going forward CPC is looking to settle into its new facilities and ensure that production remains high quality. “We have people who do nothing but review the new requirements,” the COO says, and as such the company looks set to stay at the front of its markets, with new products, dosage forms and quality products.