Pharmaceutical excipients: Feedstocks
How dairy, forestry and maize feed the pill industry
What this tab covers What it is made from and what it feeds: the raw materials and energy per tonne with their share of cost (linked to the commodity table), who is low-cost and why, and the chemicals made from it.Most excipient tonnage comes from milk, wood and maize, so excipient makers are tied to dairy, pulp and corn refining. Synthetic excipients use methyl chloride, propylene oxide, vinyl monomers and methacrylates. Feedstock cost is a modest share of price because pharma grades carry large quality and documentation premiums.
Inputs per tonne
| Input | Quantity per tonne | Role | Share of cost | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mk Milk & dairy | not published | lactose source | not published | qualitative |
| Tm Timber | about 1.1-1.3 t pulp per t MCC (indicative) | cellulose source | not published | indicative |
| Mz Maize | about 1.5 t maize per t starch (indicative) | carbohydrate source | not published | indicative |
| Tlc Talc | not applicable | glidant and filler | not published | qualitative |
| Oil Crude oil | not published | synthetic polymers | not published | qualitative |
Who is low-cost, and why
Producers integrated with dairy (lactose) or corn refining (Roquette, ADM) have the lowest cost. Branded functional excipients compete on performance and regulatory documentation, not cost.
Raw materials on the commodity table
Tm TimberMz MaizeWhat it is made into
| Product | Note |
|---|---|
| API Small-molecule APIs | combined in formulations |