Pharmaceutical industry finds region to its liking
Database research shows that area has 40 drug firms, most in N.Y.
The Capital Region may not be Boston when it comes to the pharmaceutical industry, but pound-for-pound, it has quietly become a drug-manufacturing hotbed of sorts.
A recent study of an FDA database of pharmaceutical companies registered with the agency by the Center for Economic Growth found that the region has 40 drug companies, many of them firms people may have never heard of.
But the most compelling finding was that the region is home to six drug manufacturing firms that make so-called active pharmaceutical ingredients that treat diseases or medical conditions, the most of any region in the state. The eye-opening study
The findings, CEG says, show that the region has a solid pharmaceutical ecosystem that includes other firms that don’t get as much publicity but also make drugs, including those for animals.
comes as the region’s largest drug manufacturing employer, Regeneron, has been in the news lately for its COVID -19 antibody treatment that was given to President Donald Trump when he was suffering from the virus.
The findings, CEG says, show that the region has a solid pharmaceutical ecosystem that includes other firms that don’t get as much publicity but also make drugs, including those for animals.
The region had 3,189 drug manufacturing workers as of last year, 15th most of any metro nationwide, the CEG analysis found. The largest local drug maker is Regeneron, which is based in Westchester County but does all of its U.S. manufacturing in East Greenbush. Other drug makers are AMRI, also known as Albany Molecular Research, Messer in Feura Bush, Agrochem in Glens Falls and others.
CEG also used the study, which based its results on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s database of registered drug firms, to highlight a new joint venture between the Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences and SUNY Polytechnic Institute that is scheduled to go live next month.
That’s when the two schools will be opening up their Center for Biopharmaceutical Education and Training on the SUNY Poly campus in Albany.
The new center, also known as the CBET, is expected to help train workers for careers at places like Regeneron and AMRI.
“We believe that CBET will play a significant role in supporting this industry by providing the technical expertise that biopharmaceutical companies need to expand and grow,” said Dr. Kamal Rashid, the founding director of the new center.