Imperatives that control R&D by an Agchem company

This paper provides an insight into R&D from the viewpoint of a multinational agchem company. As is the case for many commodity groups, the economic climate in which companies operate has become much tighter. This has been reflected in the increasing number of mergers and takeovers as boards strive to hold profits. to produce dividends for shareholders, and maintain share prices. Regulatory burdens continue to increase and the cost of R&D follows accordingly. When this is combined with the increase in sales by generic specialist companies of generic products (those for which the patent has expired), traditional R&D companies that have a high cost structure are now being exposed to cost pressures that are unprecedented. While the knock-down effect is a squeeze on the budget available for R&D, traditional research-based companies have had to find new ways of doing better what they do well-the discovery of new chemistry that offers growers advantages over existing products. This paper outlines the changing market, describes how new molecules are discovered and gives a local Australian flavour to R&D by agchem companies.