Tedor Pharma Inc. creates the right formula for growth

A CLOSER LOOK: Radet Tat, senior quality control analyst at Tedor Pharma Inc., works in the lab at the pharmaceutical company’s Cumberland facility. / PBN PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS
A CLOSER LOOK: Radet Tat, senior quality control analyst at Tedor Pharma Inc., works in the lab at the pharmaceutical company’s Cumberland facility. / PBN PHOTO/TRACY JENKINS

PBN MANUFACTURING AWARDS 2020 | Family-owned business: Tedor Pharma Inc.


MANY WOULD SAY it’s tough to be a family-run business in the pharmaceutical industry. Executives from Cumberland-based Tedor Pharma Inc., however, think it is an advantage.

“The majority of our competition is significantly larger than us, so that small to midsized company we tend to go after gets lost in the shuffle,” said Chief Operating Officer Terry Novak. “A client that gets the B or C team from a competitor gets the A team from us. We like to say we’re small enough to care but big enough to deliver.”

That strategy came as part of a major rebranding effort that began three years ago. With a capital investment of about $8 million, Tedor expanded its manufacturing capabilities and upgraded its facilities. Under CEO Doug Drysdale’s leadership, the company transitioned from a developer of generic drugs to a full-fledged contract development and manufacturing organization. Tedor now works with companies on a variety of oral solid-dose products, as well as on initial formula development, testing and research, clinical trials and regulatory approvals, full-scale commercial development and manufacturing.

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“It’s end-to-end product development,” Drysdale said.

The effort paid off. The company’s revenue grew 60% in 2019. Drysdale is projecting significant growth this year, though Tedor is starting from a small base.

“This award culminates three years of effort and investment,” Drysdale said.

Tedor’s expanded services include manufacturing pelletized products, an important element of many controlled-release drugs, as well as substances with restricted distributions, such as some types of pain medication. Tedor’s facilities offer 14 flexible manufacturing suites where employees can wheel different equipment in and out of rooms, creating an adaptable environment.

One of the company’s key offerings is Flexitab, a breakable extended-release tablet. Ordinarily it’s difficult to slice up a medication and maintain its integrity. With Flexitab, a 20-milligram tablet, for example, can easily be snapped into four 5-milligram pills. This breakability is important for patients who need to increase or decrease dosage, or for children or elderly people who may have difficulty swallowing a whole pill.

In addition to expanding services, Tedor added more talent over the past three years, increasing its workforce to its current size of 50 employees. Leadership also implemented an electronic quality-management system to improve efficiency, such as by digitizing paperwork.

Plus, business development became a key priority. Sales teams attended trade shows, sent e-blasts and stepped up their marketing and networking efforts. While Tedor currently works with about a dozen companies, it now has 7,000 contacts representing 3,000 companies in its database, Novak said.

“When I look at where Tedor was a year ago to now, it’s incredible,” Novak said.

“The culmination of these efforts is that we’re starting to see new customers,” Drysdale added.

Drysdale believes the technological revolution will only increase demand for Tedor’s services. Developments in artificial intelligence and machine learning have led to a boom of startups in the life services sector. These relatively small companies have the talent to discover new drugs or repurpose existing molecules, but often lack the brick-and-mortar infrastructure necessary to produce medications.

That’s where Tedor comes in.

“We offer a niche, flexible response in the field of much larger, slower, traditional competitors,” Drysdale said. “It’s a good time to be in this space. It’s picking up a lot.”

Novak said Tedor plans to continue adding capacity to meet growing demand. “However, some decisions by potential new customers to either start or bring a project to Tedor have been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said.

But ultimately, company leadership believes Tedor’s current and future success lies in the staff’s ability to provide something virtually everyone needs: problem-solving.

“We’re very fortunate to have a strong technical base in the Rhode Island and Massachusetts area – there’s lots of talent,” Drysdale said. “But beyond that is a level of energy and self-motivation and the ability to solve problems. It’s about solving a series of problems every day. The faster we can do that, the more successful we can be.”


COVID-19 UPDATE

While manufacturing of product, being able to meet purchase orders, and requests for proposals from both current and potential customers have not been impacted at Tedor Pharma Inc. by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Cumberland-based pharmaceutical company did have to alter part of its operations.

Tedor Chief Operating Officer Terry Novak said Tedor’s management team meets via teleconference daily to see how operations are going – previously they met once a week. Plus, at least one-third of its employees, mainly project management personnel, are working remotely, Novak said, which poses some challenges.

In addition to informing employees about masks and following U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, Tedor already has production employees gowned and masked at the facility, Novak said. Also, Tedor purchased infrared thermometers to check employees’ temperatures; implemented social distancing for lab workers; and temporarily does not allow any outside visitors into the facility.

“Our essential workers have to be there, but they have to be safe,” Novak said.

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