Five minutes with…

Nicola Giubellina; Senior Sales Manager,  Dishman

Chemistry Today: Good morning Nicola. How is business going for Dishman in fine chemicals and APIs and where do you feel it is going?

Giubellina: We are a global provider to the pharmaceutical and chemical industry headquartered in India. Our history started from a intuition by Mr. Jay Vyas by producing specialty chemicals, but then evolved into the production of intermediates -both GMP and non-GMP- and APIs. Eleven years ago, we acquired CARBOGEN AMCIS, which still keeps its brand, and in addition to European operations in UK, the Nederland and France; we therefore currently have a total of ten production sites, spread over both Asia and Europe. Nowadays the market is growing and it is consolidating, with several global players serving an increasingly specialized and complex demand. Our focus at Dishman is the demand for complex and challenging chemistry, since it meets our focus on the “not-so-simple” industrial chemistry.

CT: You have production sites between Europe and Asia. What advantage does this give you?

Giubellina: We try to be present on all markets and do have a heavy focus on the most advanced markets, such as the American one, given the size and importance of these markets. Most of our sales are from the American and European markets, where both of our brands – Dishman and CARBOGEN AMCIS, – enjoy a constant success.

Having productions sites around the globe has placed Dishman in a great position with our customers as we are able to be that “one-stop shop” without having to compromise on quality or expertise. Our CARBOGEN AMCIS, facilities in Europe typically are the best fit for Phase I and Phase II pharma production, and niche scale commercial manufacturing with our Dishman Indian facilities being the best fit for the later phases of pharma production and for large-scale production of intermediates and peculiar/challenging chemistry. Our Asian operations are able to offer the advantage of high quality facilities and highly competitive manufacturing costs to our customers, without compromising on our strict quality guarantee or level of service we provide.

Everything on GMP?

Giubellina: Yes, we offer cGMP production at every scale, from milligrams to tons. Our Swiss plants mainly go from lab scale to hundreds of kgs, with larger scales being produced in China or India.

However, we also have a specialised nonGMP facility in Manchester and India which focuse on process research and the synthesis of pharmaceutical intermediates.

You are historically known also as a producer of phase-transfer catalysts. Is there anything new there?

Giubellina: Actually, 70% of our revenues today come from the CRAM business. The remaining 30% comes from products such as the catalysts you mention and a niche generic API portfolio. We sell the catalysts on a multi-ton scale, mainly supporting the pharma industry. This is a mature market, so the growth of these products is not as strong, but every year we see them rising in revenues.

What about flow chemistry?

Giubellina: As our CEO recently said in an interview, flow chemistry and microreactors are technologies we are evaluating. However we, as a CMO, must have a speculative approach. If it makes sense for a client, then we are happy to consider this. Yet, while we are aware there is a lot of buzz, the actual demand is still weak.

What does Dishman-CARBOGEN AMCIS offer that no one else can?

Giubellina: Our unique selling point is the attention to the specific customer’s needs and the communication with the client. We try to build partnerships beyond the mere speculative, and because of this we can be proud of a customer return rate beyond 70%. On the technological point of view, we have a very strong presence in highly potent manufacturing, and we have the largest Asian highly potent compounds manufacturing plant. We also offer technologies such as ozonolysis and irradiation on the industrial scale, that almost no one else is able to offer. Last but not least, we rely on highly experienced and competent people. Our team is composed of experts who are able to offer tailored solutions according customers’ need.