Novo Nordisk Pharmatech and DKSH have partnered to provide high-quality current good manufacturing practice (cGMP) quaternary ammonium compounds (quats) in eleven markets across the Asia Pacific (APAC).

DKSH’s business unit Performance Materials will distribute Novo Nordisk Pharmatech’s pharmaceutical-grade quats to its large customer base in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Indonesia, South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, China, Taiwan and Singapore.

Novo Nordisk Pharmatech manufactures its pharmaceutical quats in accordance with the cGMP Guide International Conference on Harmonisation (ICH) Q7 for active pharmaceutical ingredients (API), one of the highest available quality standards in the industry.

The Benzalkonium Chloride (BKC), Cetrimonium Bromide (CTAB), Cetrimide and Strong Cetrimide quats act either as preservatives or active ingredients in a diverse range of applications, including ophthalmic, nasal, oral, dental or topical treatments and medical devices such as wound care.

DKSH was chosen for its experience in providing market expansion services (MES) alongside the entire value chain and its solid logistics infrastructure.

As a regional expert with more than 150 years of experience in Asia, DKSH offers an omnichannel approach that presents a one-stop regional solution for its clients. DKSH provides customised value-added services and a deep capillary distribution network that will enable the distribution of Novo Nordisk’s products in the eleven markets across APAC.

Vice-president of global pharmaceutical industry at DKSH Tanja Schaffer commented: “We are very pleased to partner with Novo Nordisk Pharmatech in Asia Pacific. Their pharmaceutical-grade quats are a perfect fit for our API portfolio. We look forward to providing the quats to our large customer base in the region and to building a prosperous relationship with Novo Nordisk Pharmatech.”

Global sales and marketing director at Novo Nordisk Pharmatech Steve Profit added: “For Novo Nordisk Pharmatech, it is critical that we have a distribution partner that shares our business ethics and drive to offer the best services to our customers, so we are delighted to have DKSH as our new distribution partner.

“Novo Nordisk Pharmatech’s FeF® GMP quats products fit perfectly with DKSH’s wide range of excipients, enabling the customers to take advantage of these synergies. Together, we will be able to offer the best quality and local distribution in the market. This will allow our customers to grow in this progressing global market.”

About DKSH

DKSH is an MES provider with a focus on Asia. The firm helps other companies and brands to grow their business in new or existing markets. Publicly listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange since 2012, DKSH is a global company headquartered in Zurich. With 825 business locations in 37 markets and 31,970 specialised staff, DKSH generated net sales of CHF11.0bn in 2017. DKSH was founded in 1865. With strong Swiss heritage, the company has a long tradition of doing business in and with Asia and is deeply rooted in communities and businesses across APAC.

DKSH business unit Performance Materials is a speciality chemicals distributor and provider of MES for performance materials, covering Europe, North America and the whole of Asia. The unit sources, develops, markets and distributes a wide range of speciality chemicals and ingredients for pharmaceutical, personal care, food and beverage, as well as various industrial applications.

In addition, it creates innovative and cutting-edge concepts and applications in 29 innovation centres located worldwide. With 100 business locations in 31 markets and around 1,010 specialised staff, Performance Materials generated net sales of CHF894.1m in 2017.