Diteba bolsters chemistry offering with Thesis partnership
The collaboration, terms of which were not disclosed, will combine Thesis’ process chemistry, production and analytical capabilities with Diteba range of raw material, active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) and finished product testing services.
In a press statement, Diteba president Dmitry Baranov said the deal reflects his firm’s “desire to put forward a broader, integrated chemistry solution in response to customers’ active ingredient and intermediate synthesis needs.”
Baranov went on to explain that “It is vital we provide our customers with timely novel scientific solutions in overcoming their most challenging drug development needs.”
These thoughts were echoed by John Peterson, Thesis Chemisty’s president, who stressed the advantages of such combined service offerings for clients in pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industry.
“Our customers will benefit from integrated chemistry, manufacturing and testing services that span from pre-clinical through launch stages through one vendor, which will in turn reduce their outsourcing and project management burdens.”
Recovering demand?
Such comments, and indeed the Diteba-Thesis accord itself, support the idea that demand for chemistry research and development services is recovering after the slowdown resulting from last year’s economic downturn.
Some contracting organisations, such as Almac and Icon which has both recently moved to bolster the offerings, would agree with Diteba’s comments about customer demand.
Others, however, would disagree, with a notable example being US CRO Covance which recently attributed falling demand for early-phase chemistry services as one of the factors in its decision to cut its guidance.
But, while companies’ experiences and opinions about demand for contract chemistry may differ, what is clear is that the production of pharmaceuticals will still require knowledge and application of chemistry at the industrial scale.
