Skip to main content

Cost of a tablet...how it calculated ?

 

Clinical courses

Submitted by admin on 2 December 2015

Everyone will have a common question that how much does it cost a drug company to produce a medicine product?  Before we get realistic answer we need to understand detailed specifics of the drug company’s aims / targets and essentials for the medicine with respect to manufacturing, quality control, quality assurance, packaging, labeling and regulatory submission of a medicine product.

Specialized packaging elements often subject to taking in to specialized change components

Cost derivation depends on the packaging elements such as a specialized container or a unique container closure system? If this is the condition, then unique packaging change components will be necessitate fitting in this specialized closure. It can include cost to the overall product.

A tablet preparation available in a variety of forms and functions, which can have an impact on price

In this context first we need look from a production angle what will be the mode of operation of the finished tablet. This can be best reported in that, what is the operating mechanism, whether this is an immediate release, modified release, sustained release, bio-adhesive as so on and will formulated with its own active pharmaceutical ingredients and excipients. Usually, sustained release tablets costs will be little expensive due to specialized polymers also Immediate release tablets produced with less steps and are available at lower costs. Whereas controlled release involves complex processes, which can step up the production costs.  Other formulations such as bi-layer tablets, can give added costs due to multiple production steps, coated or not coated tablets will have importance on cost s, coated tablets can add approx 25- 30% production hours and thus finished product costs will be changing.

Tablet Composition vs. EHS (Environmental Health and Safety) factors

EHS has important role while deriving a tablet costing we know each medicine composed of active pharmaceutical ingredient (API), these API will have own mechanism of action and unique steps for preparation therefore biopharma companies follow strict EHS practices to protect their resources as well as society, environment from the hazards or drug companies classify the API in terms of safety and then implement required compliance procedures to these API compounds therefore these practices directly influence the cost to the overall product.

Also analytical testing, regulatory parameters plays important role and it is very difficult to giving a cost of tablet or any pharmaceutical finished product, since it involve product technical data, machinery, resource, regulatory strategy and many other parameters.