APIs & OTC

Description

The pharmaceutical industry discovers, develops, produces, and markets drugs or pharmaceutical drugs for use as medications to be administered (or self-administered) to patients, with the aim to  cure them,  vaccinate them, or alleviate the symptoms.  Pharmaceutical companies may deal in generic or brand medications and medical devices.  A pharmaceutical is any kind of drug used for medicinal purposes, like cough syrup or sleeping pills. You may have heard of a pharmacy, which is a place where you can buy medicinal drugs, or a pharmacist, which is a person who prepares those drugs.  he definition of pharmaceutical is something related to prescription drugs or pharmacies. An example of a pharmaceutical drug is Prozac.  API (Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient) means the active ingredient which is contained in medicine. For example, an active ingredient to relieve pain is included in a painkiller. This is called API.  A small amount of the active ingredient has an effect, so only a tiny part of the active ingredient is contained in medicine. You will find the name and amount of the active ingredient contained in the medicine on the package of OTC (over-the-counter) drugs.  The chemical compound which is in the process of becoming an API from a raw material is called an intermediate.  Drug manufacturers make medicines by mixing APIs and pharmaceutical excipients. This is how an API becomes a medicine. It is delivered to hospitals and pharmacies until it reaches the patient. If an API is not ultrapure, a medicine cannot meet the strict quality criteria so the quality of an API plays a very important role.