Laboratoria Smeets

1. From being a family owned business of producing pharmaceutical powders, how did it evolve to be Laboratoria Smeets?

The need to innovate and to grow made external capital necessary.

2. Contract manufacturing opportunities are seen as a cost containment measure. In what way do you think Europe's economic slowdown will impact the business?

Cost and managing complexity are very important challenges of this industry. Innovation can help to find new ways.

3. How do you think packaging technology can tackle the issue of counterfeit drugs? What are such advances in pharmaceutical packaging?

Counterfeit drugs should be mainly made impossible by a well functioning national health care system, whereby multiple step controls are making life for counterfeit drug producers more difficult.

4. What could US government's decision to manufacture APIs locally mean to Laboratoria Smeets?

For Laboratoria Smeets this has no impact. In Europe however, stricter regulations have been advantageous for local producers.

5. Pharmaceuticals, being a highly regulated industry, how do you establish business performance?

Regulation does not take into account costs.  Inflation in this industry is much higher than in the general economy. Excess regulation is not always adding value for society. Health care becomes more expensive. Sometimes the industry pushes for more regulation, because it creates a barrier for entry.

6. What kind of technology is currently deployed at Laboratoria Smeets' manufacturing facilities?

We have technology for making API’s water soluble. Higher than the natural solubility.  Interesting in veterinary applications for using drinking water systems for drug administration.

7. Would like to tell us about the contributions of Laboratoria Smeets to drug development?

In our contract manufacturing  business, our main contribution is formulation and stability studies.  In our food supplement business, we focus on the understanding of biochemical processes and how we can support them.