Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (Two Years)), 20 credits / 30 HE credits
Master thesis in Business Administration, Swedish Business School at Örebro University, fall semester 2011.
Authors: Carl Bennerhed, Christoffer Stackell
Tutor: Olle Westin
Title: Cost & risk factors when outsourcing API - A case study at AstraZeneca
Background: Many pharmaceutical companies have begun, more commonly, to outsource in order to remain competitive, and to reduce the cost of manufacturing. To outsource successfully and gain the advantages, it is important to evaluate risk and cost factors.
Research objective: The purpose of this study is to identify and evaluate the factors that affect outsourcing of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API). The results from the literature and theories will be used to compare and identify AstraZeneca’s outsourcing strategies, against the theories. Through comparison and analysis of the results, the research objective is to develop a model that can be used to evaluate risk and cost factors when outsourcing API.
Methodology: The foundation for this thesis is based on a qualitative approach. The empirical material is founded upon two semi-structured interviews with AstraZeneca’s Global External Sourcing team.
Conclusion: Based on the research, it has been determined that AstraZeneca do not evaluate all the factors that have been identified in the theoretical framework. Therefore, a model is suggested to AstraZeneca, which can assist in the consideration of API outsourcing.
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