Bill DuBay is Vice President of Global Research and Development at SK pharmteco. He is responsible for developing SK pharmteco’s pipeline across six manufacturing sites.
Bill has over 25 years of experience in Process Chemistry, Project Management and Business Development. Prior to SK pharmteco, Bill held various positions at Wyckoff, Catalytica, DSM and AMPAC Fine Chemicals.
Leveraging a global footprint
Highlights from our discussion with Dr Bill DuBay, Vice President of Global Research and Development at SK pharmteco.
One team
SK pharmteco comprises SK biotek, AMPAC Fine Chemicals, AMPAC Analytical and Yposkesi. While each of these business units maintains a unique personality, SK pharmteco has just revealed a new logo that connects them all under the SK pharmteco umbrella.
“We have experienced significant growth over the past couple of years,” explains Bill. “With such continued growth and diversification it is important to provide customers with a simple interface. We provide a lead contact who will support programs, whether they are being developed and manufactured in the US, Europe or Asia. The rebranding supports this ‘one team’ objective.”
SK pharmteco is continuing to grow organically and through acquisitions, and is constantly evaluating new technologies and areas to increase its value offering. As a development and manufacturing organization, SK pharmteco is committed to bringing on-going value to customers,
and providing win-win solutions to development issues
early in the life cycle and competitive commercial production later.
Strategic leveraging
Despite the impact of COVID, SK pharmteco has seen a significant number of new programs added to its pipeline in the past 18 months. However, recent growth has been achieved – as we all know – under difficult circumstances, in particular relating to supply chain issues.
Added to the complications of COVID, the industry has seen issues with workforce availability, extreme weather and geopolitical issues that have led to shut-downs of large oil and gas operations from which many basic raw materials are derived. These issues continue into 2022, but Bill is confident that SK pharmteco’s global footprint will continue to minimize these issues. He cites three factors that help SK pharmteco to deal with these challenges:
- A global Preferred Provider Network – including high quality partners in China, India, the US and Europe – that provides critical raw materials and transportation in disrupted markets;
- Parent company SK Inc’s substantial global footprint that can be leveraged to obtain key raw materials;
- Forward-buying of some key raw materials has helped with availability and has diminished the impact of inflationary pricing.
SK pharmteco leverages its global footprint and utilizes the strengths of its different businesses to provide engineered solutions for pharma manufacturing. Much of Bill’s focus at DCAT Week 2022 will be in continuing to strengthen the company’s Preferred Provider Network, expanding raw material suppliers and evaluating new technologies.
“As companies continue to develop capabilities and expand, so will our partnerships and working relationships with them,” declares Bill.
With regard to the trend for ‘on-shoring’ manufacturing to Western suppliers, SK pharmteco has been able to participate actively in the big push from the US government to set up more domestic manufacturing of essential generic medicines through a collaboration with Phlow Corp.
“There is little doubt that the recent global events will lead to a ‘correction’ in terms of the balance of supply of API from India and China to other geographies,” says Bill. “We are at a good position within SK pharmteco to help forge that trend with our strong and expanding manufacturing footprint.”
Cell and gene therapy
Last year, SK pharmteco announced considerable expansion in its cell and gene therapy (CGT) capacity. This is a major growth area for SK pharmteco, which is now a leading CDMO in the CGT field following its investments in Yposkesi and the Center for Breakthrough Medicines. Both Yposkesi and the Center for Breakthrough Medicines are supporting multiple clients in clinical trials, and SK pharmteco is investing considerable capital in both businesses, with a view to expanding commercial scale manufacturing.
“Having this presence in the US and EU provides differentiated value for our customers from an R&D, Clinical and Commercial perspective,” explains Bill. “We expect a huge synergistic effect from the collaboration between Yposkesi and the Center for Breakthrough Medicines. We have already started discussions to define how best to complement the two organizations to deliver valuable therapies to our customers and the patients who rely on them.”
Sustainability and ethics
As the world emerges from COVID, it is important to remember that the world still faces a climate crisis. Governments across the world have committed to ambitious Net Zero goals, and sustainability is recognised as a prime objective. SK pharmteco is responding by enhancing its ESG program.
“Many environmental projects are underway to reduce waste, especially in solvent recycling,” says Bill. “To monitor our progress, we are developing a Carbon Footprint and will be committing to specific reductions in the future.”
The company is also planning for an initial public offering (IPO) to support continued growth in enterprise value. As SK pharmteco moves toward the IPO, the company is embracing a governance structure that allows for the promotion and demonstration of its commitment to honest and ethical behaviours.
DCAT Week is the premier global event held annually in New York City for companies engaged in the Bio/Pharmaceutical manufacturing value chain. It is hosted by the Drug, Chemical & Associated Technologies Association (DCAT), a not-for-profit, corporate member-supported, and volunteer-led global business development association for companies engaged in the Bio/Pharmaceutical manufacturing value chain. Learn more at
