Don't Judge a Book by its Cover (Or Its Title)

Roy Fan, general manager of Standard Chem. & Pharm., one of Taiwan's leading generics manufacturers, spoke to Focus Reports about his plans for the internationalization of his company, and the successful work Standard has been doing in the US in collaboration with its sister company, Stason. For the full interview, please logon to www.Pharma.FocusReports.net.

Roy Fan, General Manager, Standard Chem & Pharm

I was very surprised to see a company called 'Standard Chemical and Pharmaceutical' ranked amongst the top three local players in Taiwan. It seems as though your company is far from standard. What is it about Standard Pharm that stops it from being just an average pharmaceutical company?

My father, the founder of the company, came up with the name. He believed that everything had to be done according to standards. It was my father's belief that since we were involved in the business of people's health, everything must be first up to standard, and then as a company we must exceed those standards. This is something we still believe today.

Standard's facility in Taiwan

Why was the decision taken to internationalize the company?

Standard was faced with the problem that it could not sustain further growth in Taiwan. As a result, the company either had to move into branded generics or new drug development, or seek to internationalize. Standard resolved to look outside the Taiwanese market, because generics are what we do best. The largest domestic pharmaceutical companies—Standard, CCPC, and Yung Shin—are traditional generics companies. Our large sales volumes come from generics, and to go into new drug development or biologics would take a fundamental change in our structure. Standard decided to go overseas, and set its focus on the US, China, and Southeast Asia.

Stason's offices in the US

What are some benefits and activities of Standard's strategic alliance with the US-based Stason Pharmaceuticals?

Standard and Stason are well-established companies, both in Asia and in North America, with their respective manufacturing and distribution infrastructures in place. By joining forces, the companies can rely on each other's regional expertise, resources, and distribution channels, giving each entity the potential for a quick ramp-up when expanding into each other's market. For instance, through its Texas locations (Austin and San Antonio), Stason has established a wide distribution network of 58 distributors throughout the United Sates and Canada, totaling over 1,300 inventory locations. Stason's extensive distribution network, coupled with its sales personnel and telemarketers, offers a rapid and efficient way to distribute products.

Furthermore, Stason and Standard are collaborating on expanding their product portfolios with the acquisition and development of brands and innovative products such as new chemical entities (NCE) and orphan drugs. These novel products will be distributed in North America by Stason and in Asia by Standard, giving us the advantage of a two-prong strategy.

What are some of Standard and Stason's future expansion plans?

We plan to open an office in Canada by early next year. Future expansion plans include offices in Europe and South America in the next 24 months. Continuing our push into Southeast Asia, we have tentatively selected Singapore for our fourth regional office. To broaden our global product portfolios, we will work with partners to codevelop and commercialize innovative products for specific markets. In the US, negotiations are under way to expand our sales and distribution group in Texas through merger and acquisition.