CRITICAL LINK Assistance from contract manufacturing operations, such as this one operated by Rhodia in Annan, Scotland, is crucial to small biotechnology firms.
	RHODIA PHOTO

It can be a difficult industry to serve, especially if the service being provided is one as critical as contract development or chemical manufacturing. Managers and corporate directions may change, but the biotech industry's demand for high-quality chemistry services remains the same.

In the pages to follow, C&EN presents three case studies of the relationship between a biopharmaceutical company and a pharmaceutical chemistry provider. Belying the biotech industry's discovery-oriented image, none of the three biotech firms pro-

filed developed its own drug. Rather, the compounds were licensed or acquired from other firms or institutions.

Uncertainty is created when a drug in development changes hands, but as these stories show, the successful service provider must be able to weather change and even use change to its advantage.