necessity bulky in nature further complicates the business. Seasonal use periods present a constant problem in inventory control, and instead of ordering a month or two in advance, customers often demand immediate delivery. ^Picking up the Check. The demanding and varied character of the chemical manufacturer's task in developing and producing a n e w pesticide compound is but part of the problem, said Jack T. Thurston of American Cyanamid's Stamford Laboratories. Industrial research by itself cannot carry out the development. It must work in cooperation with many state and federal agencies. However, industrial research is better equipped to search for new compounds than governmental or university research organizations, Thurston contends. With its many parallel research programs, hundreds of n e w compounds are m a d e available each year for pesticide evaluation. T h e high cost of sustained search for active compounds could only be supported by industry where success means not only solution of a problem but additional profits as well. After discussing the development of methods, development of compounds, the objectives of a pesticides research program, and t h e organization of industrial research, Thurston suggests that the eventual understanding of the mode of action of active compounds in the future may provide the basis for tailor-making pesticides. This approach, however, is a long way off, and "the future is hazy concerning any departure from our present methods."
New Drugs: The Ante Comes High Long- and sho *-term studies for toxicity *. m manufacturers a r e costly; Food-Drug Law is w e a k in spots A great amount of e f f o r t and money are expended by drug manufacturers in developing new products a n d determining their effectiveness and safety on p u r e food and drug laws, says Robert P. Parker of American Cyanamid. For example, a bacteriostatic compound, prepared synthetically, was subjected to animal studies for acute, subacute, and short-term chronic toxicity. Called Step No. 1, the cost for these determinations was placed at $10,350 to $15,600. Step No. 2 involved h u m a n pharmacology for determining toxicity and
therapeutic action of the drug. This investigation required staff medical researchers a n d outside consultants, with a costs range of $18,000 to $27,000. In Step No. 3, long-term studies were conducted in experimental animals for chronic toxicity, a research phase which costs $40,000 to $80,000. Then followed extended clinical investigation a t a cost range, including grants of $20,000 to $40,000; quality control studies, $9,000 to $19,000; and process development, consuming about V/2 years a t a cost range of $30,000 to $60,000. Total investment in the new drug accumulated to demonstrate it: safety a n d efficiency, 8128,000 to $242,000, Parker told the Division of Chemical Marketing and Economics. In another example involving an antithyroid drug, and where the demonstration phase was difficult because the principle was new, the costs range for toxicity studies alone was $40,000 to $80,000. A second drug with antithyroid activity some 10 times greater came from the laboratory research program, and while the experience obtained with the first product aided greatly, the antithyroid drug development in this example had an estimated investment for the demonstration phase of $102,000 to $193,000. • Weak Spot. There are major weaknesses in the present Food, Drug and Cosmetic law, says L. R. Coleman, legal department, Allied Chemical and Dye. The Foo^t and Drug Administration, lacking the power of regulation over all food additives, may b e unable to procure knowledge of the use, or even knowledge of the existence of a new ingredient claimed to be beneficial (unless it is a food color) until long after it has become a part of the general diet. It does know, however, what products are being added to foods, either through voluntary submission of the information by the processor or, less frequently, through the usual channels of the public and trade press. A second weakness in the law, Coleman thinks, is that the philosophical basis of the original enactment, namely, that certain substances are, and others are not, poisonous and deleterious per se, has been continued in the law itself and its administration until the present time. This has a corollary in the use of the word "harmless" as the necessary attribute of a certified food color where "harmless" has been administratively determined to mean "zero toxicity." The Court of Appeals in N e w York has indicated that it does not subscribe to the administration's view. Coleman calls attention to several examples of sensationalism in books and the press concerning the use of additives in foods. This sensationalism, he says, makes more difficult the work of
Congress and of the Food and Drug Administration, and hence t h e chemical industry in the whole field of chemicals in foods.
Cosmetics: Billion $ Market 1900 them dustry lation
manufacturers make including soaps; inhas some serious reguproblems
The annual business in perfumes, cosmetics, and toilet prepara t i o n s h a s iiiiS creased from $335 million in 1936 to around $1.2 billion in 1956, according to Jean R. L. Martin of Martin-Valer Consultants, and much of it is due to the desire for good grooming rather than glamor. Other factors in this amazing growth of cosmetics and toilet preparations is the specialization of able chemists in what is termed "cosmetic science," basic research in chemicals, and the cooperation of other scientific branches. These views were brought out during a symposium on perfumes, cosmetics, and toilet preparations before the Division of Chemical Marketing and Economics. Chemical engineering has likewise played a role in the business and the newest developments in processes, equipment, and packaging, and assembly line production has been applied to cosmetic manufacture. Advertising, marketing techniques, mass distribution, have all been called upon to awaken odor consciousness—in the individual as well as in industry. > Consumer "Measurements." Success or failure of a product depends upon what is called "performance measurements" of the consumer, says R. E. Vicklund, Sindar Corp., in a paper prepared in collaboration with R. E. Horsey of Givaudan-Delawanna. Just what measurements t h e consumer makes and how he makes them is perplexing, and their indeterminism explains the high rate of product fatality in the cosmetic and soap industries. It also partly accounts for t h e reluctance of many manufacturers to effect changes in a successful item even though the change would b e an obvious improvement. Through a survey a manufacturer of a deodorant preparation found to his surprise that a sizable percentage of users gave its pleasant odor as the main reason for their purchase. Kau he changed the odor, which was only secOCT.
i,
1956
C&EN
4809
MARKETS ond to i t s deodorant action, h e would have lost: many customers. Hexadhlorophene soaps found acceptance at first by the medical profession, out the big market, the public, had no interest in antiseptic soa?vs. When it was found that their antiseptic action controlled objectionable perspiration odors, the public's purchases wrote o n e of the most fabulous success stories o f the soap industry. • Mcsray Rets;: Outfets. Records of the Federal Trade Commission indicate that there are approximately 1900 manufacturers and wholesalers of cosmetic and soap products and that retail outlets exceed 80,000, of which 60,000 are drug stares, said Paul Cameron, head
of the commission's trade practice conference, division. It is an industry, h e says, that is not dominated by a big one, two, or even a big three, and in which competition is keen and vigorous. During the past two decades the commission has found it necessary to keep the industry's sales promotional efforts in line with the Clayton Act as amended by the Robinson-Patman Act, and with special attention to the cosmetic industry. Consumer sales are more dependent in the cosmetic industry on retail promotion and sales effort than most other industries; hence, "point of sale" benefits by manufacturers to retail customers are more extensive.
Should Data Sheets Sell Chemicals? Design chemical d a t a sheets as reference piece for customers' convenience, says advertiser Many chemical companies feel technical data sheets to be just another sales piece. In line with this philosophy, tkey often go out of their way to make this literature unique. Original a n d expensive art-work, special binders, out-size pages, all can tend to annoy t h e prospect who wants only comparative data and wants it in a hurry. E. M. Myers of Victor Chemical told a joint symposium of the Division of Chemical Literature and the Division of Chemical Marketing and Economics that the primary job of a chemical data sheet is to b e an accurate, up-to-date source o f specific product information. "Nobody ever sold any chemicals from just a data sheet/' observed Myers. Prospects, he feels, should be able to turn to a file of data sheets which describe individual chemicals in a concise, objective manner. This type of literature ought not to be persuasive but simply informative. Chemical handbooks present data in much thte same way, Myers suggests. H e feels that data sheets can b e most valuable when used for comparisons or preliminary screening since detailed information regarding applications must come from other literature or through personal presentations. Myers pointed t o the situation which has developed in the pubhshing industry, where several associations issue complete data on all publications. A 4810
C&EN OCT.
I.
!956
standard format is used, and ready comparisons can be made of all essential facts regarding media selection by prospective advertisers and their agencies: mechanical requirements, rate structure, circulation, special features, and names of editors and local representatives. Obviously, much of this parallels the type cr- information required by chemical prospects. Myers formally proposed that the ACS appoint a committee to develop an appropriate standard form t o be used by each manufacturer in presenting chemical data. He recommended that letter-size forms-8 1 / 2 b y 1 1 i n c h e s might be best since this would facilitate mailing, handling, and filing. This, of course, he left open to study, along with the questions of color, layout, content, reference notations, attached coupons, and information about the manufacturer. Myers presented his o w n simplified version, not as the final answer by any means but merely as a starting-point for discussion.
Strategy for Urea-Forms Sales performance of urea-f orma l d e h y d e fertilizers outdid expectations w h e n they were introduced t o the market just last year. The product, from which nitrogen is released slowly, sells at a price three to four times that of nitrogen materials containing the same amount of nitrogen.
•
WEEK'S PRICE CHANGES September 24, 1956 Advance CUESSXT
PESYIOUS
Cin-omium chemicals, lb. $ 0.1274 9 0.13 Sodium bichromate 0.167s 0.1S Potassium bichromate 0.287* 0.287* Chromic acid 0.097* 0.1015 Sodium chromate 0.11 Chromium sulfate o.ioy* Coconut oil, crude, coast 0.11 0-!l»/« ^Ib. 151.00 157.00 oopr&, coast, XIOXA 0.11»A 0.1 PA Cottonseed oil. Valley, lb. 0.84 0.86 Dipentine, l.c.l., lb. 5.25 5.50 Dried blood, per unit Gum rosins, c w t . 9.20 9.30 Betsy to M a r y 0.35 9.40 Nancy 9.50 9.60 Window glass 9.70 9.80 Water white Gum rosins, cwt. 8.15 8.25 Katy, Mary 8.20 8.30 Nancy 8.25 8.35 Window glass 8.40 8.50 Water white Gum turpentine, South, 0.54*A 0.55»/« sal. 6.00 6-25 Menthol, Brazilian, lb. Peanut oil, crude, tanks. 0.13 0.137* lb. Phthalates, tanks, lb. 0.287* 0.297* Di-isodecyl 0.28 0.287* Dioctyl 0.28 0.287* Di-isooctyl 0.179 0.181 Pine oil, l.c.l.. l b . Soybean meal, Decatur, 45.25 46.00 ton •Tartar emetic, lb. 0.65V* 0.697* Technical, 250-lb. drms. 0.7OV* 0.747* TLS.P., in 250-lb. drms. Turpentine, steamed dist. 0.82 0.84 wood, gal. Declines Tin metal, lb. 9 1.05V* S Tin salts, lb. 0.728 Potassium stannate 0.602 Sodium stannate Stannous chloride, 0.952 anhyd. * Effective Oct. 1.
1.07 0.732 0.607 0.958
Some of the strategy involved in putting a high-cost, high-quality n e w product on the market was revealed by James M. O'Donnell of Woonsocket Color & Chemical to the Fertilizer and Soil Division. A comparison of the urea-forms with other nitrogen fertilizers—both synthetic and natural—showed that U-F nitrogen was available to plants over a considerably longer period of time than either of the other types. This means that large quantities of nitrogen can he applied at one time without danger of burning the plants. In lawn and turf, this property is an advantage. Formulators of fertilizer for the home and garden trade could triple the unit nitrogen content of tiieir products b y using U-F. Such unusual grades for this market as 20-5-5, 14-7-7, and 38-0-0 could be made available. Although formulators recognized the advantage, they still felt that the price they would have to charge (two or three times the price for other fertilizers of similar analysis) would be a n almost insunnountable obstacle. Nevertheless a few formulators made up limited batches using U-F and put them on the market for trials. (Continued on page 4843)
