Norwich Pharmaceuticals

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by: Tyler Murphy

Norwich Pharmaceuticals may have reverted back to the namesake it once held, but the new owners of the former OSG Pharmaceuticlas are a different story.

“The main priority of our new owners is the long-term picture. The transition is a positive development as the last five months have proven to be the case,” said Christopher R. Calhoun, president of Norwich Pharmaceuticals.

AFI Partners, a private equity firm based in New York City, purchased the facility from the Outsourcing Services Group. It is the second time the manufacturing plant has switched hands since Procter & Gamble relinquished ownership.

The buy-out of the company did not greatly affect operations at the North Norwich manufacturer. The organization continued relatively uninterrupted, keeping the same leadership and employees that served the business before the purchase.

“The activity of our new sales plan focuses on the long-term growth of the company. We are working together to develop a very close working plan for the future,” said Calhoun.

The company is currently orchestrating a plan to begin a number of facility improvements in 2008. Those improvements are both technical and strategic in nature. Calhoun explained the plant would be updating and receiving new equipment. While this is happening, the sales department will be reevaluating its “long-term goals to achieve long-term solutions,” he said.

Employment at the site has increased more than 70 percent from when it split from Procter & Gamble in 2001 – approximately 250 people then to the roughly 425 people today.

The heritage of the pharmaceutical business in Norwich goes back 120 years. The original Norwich Pharmaceuticals played a significant role in the Norwich and greater Chenango County economies. Last year the company contributed roughly $18 million into the economy through payrolls.

“We expect to be a continued source of stability and growth in the region,” Calhoun said.

Norwich Pharmaceuticals is a commercial manufacturer. That means the company relies on acquiring independent drug companies to contract it to produce a certain material for a certain amount of time. This commercial climate can sometimes lead to unexpected turns as the company discovered in its second attempt to launch its prophylactic sponges late last year. The backer of the product declared bankruptcy and Norwich Pharmaceuticals was left to adapt.

“We’ve become very good at making internal adjustments while maintaining our financial stability,” said Calhoun. “We are in a global market with global competitors.”

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