American API Alliance
American API Alliance
  1. 01Product
  2. 02Capabilities
  3. 03Why now
  4. 04The Alliance
Become a founding member

A purchasing alliance for US pharmaceutical manufacturers.

A purchasing alliance for US pharmaceutical manufacturers

Spend Diagnostic · the first product of the Alliance

The fair price for every active ingredient, and the buying power to get it.

The American API Alliance pools members’ raw-material purchase data into fair-price benchmarks, supplier-risk scores and tariff exposure, then pools the buying itself. It starts with a Spend Diagnostic of your last 24 months.

Become a founding memberSee the product

Designed for SOC 2 · Aggregation rules reviewed by counsel · Every supplier anonymized

Trade lanes into US generic plants: India, China and the EU. USP Medicine Supply Map.

Spend Diagnostic
Sample data

Spend overview

24 months of raw-material spend · last upload today

Spend analyzed
$18.4M
46 materials · 14 suppliers
Lines matched
93%
92 lines need review
Identified annual savings
$1.36M
$0.91M act now · $0.45M needs qualification
Spend at elevated supplier risk
$2.7M
3 suppliers flagged
Top opportunitiesAll findings
MaterialSupplierPaidP50PctlSavingsAction
Metformin HCl · USPSupplier A · IN$9.80$7.6086th$242KNegotiate now
Losartan K · USPSupplier H · CN$118$9683rd$212KNeeds qualification
Atorvastatin Ca · EPSupplier C · CN$182$15179th$196KShift volume
Gabapentin · USPSupplier A · IN$41.50$36.2074th$158KNegotiate now
Spend by origin
  • India46%
  • China31%
  • EU14%
  • United States6%
  • Other3%

77% of spend from India and China. Generic ingredients are exempt from Section 232 tariffs today; review due 2027.

Sample findings
  • Metformin hydrochloride · USP · Supplier A · India · paid $9.80 vs P50 $7.60 per kg DDP · 86th percentile · Negotiate now · $242K a year
  • Losartan potassium · USP · Supplier H · China · paid $118 vs P50 $96 per kg DDP · 83rd percentile · Needs qualification · $212K a year
  • Atorvastatin calcium · EP · micronized · Supplier C · China · paid $182 vs P50 $151 per kg DDP · 79th percentile · Shift volume · $196K a year
  • Gabapentin · USP · Supplier A · India · paid $41.50 vs P50 $36.20 per kg DDP · 74th percentile · Negotiate now · $158K a year
  • Amlodipine besylate · USP · Supplier F · China · paid $96 vs P50 $80 per kg DDP · 81st percentile · Needs qualification · $131K a year

01 · The product

One messy invoice line,taken all the way to an action.

Four stages, one screen each. The line below is the same metformin drum at every stage, and every figure on these screens is computed from the demo member's own lines.

  1. 01

    Upload 24 months as they are

    Purchase orders, invoices and spreadsheet exports. Header rows are found, columns are mapped once and remembered. PDF invoices are extracted page by page with a line-total check.

    as written on the invoice

    METFORMIN HCL BP/USP 25KG DRUM · 2,000 KG · $8.95/KG CIF NEWARK

    Spend Diagnostic
    Sample data

    Upload spend data

    1. 1 · Upload files
    2. 2 · Map columns
    3. 3 · Review matches
    Drop purchase files here
    CSV, Excel or PDF invoices · up to 50 MB each · encrypted on upload
    • po_export_24_months.xlsxParsed
      1,304 rows · header found on row 3
    • supplier_invoices_q3.pdfExtracting
      27 of 42 pages · extraction with a line-total check
    Map your columns

    Guessed from your headers. Confirm once; it is saved as a template.

    Your columnSample valueMaps to
    Vendor NameSUP-A PHARMA LTDsupplier_name
    Item DescMETFORMIN HCL USP 25KG DRUMmaterial_description
    Qty2,000quantity
    UoMKGuom
    Unit Cost8.95unit_price
    TermsCIF NEWARKincoterm

    All required fields mapped · Incoterm found on 88% of rows

  2. 02

    Match every line to an exact material

    Each line is matched to a canonical material, grade and salt form. A candidate with a different salt form is blocked whatever its text similarity. Uncertain lines go to a short review queue.

    salt form locked; free base blocked

    Metformin hydrochloride · USP · CAS 1115-70-4

    Spend Diagnostic
    Sample data

    Review queue

    Lines we could not match with high confidence. Every choice trains the matcher.

    0 of 4 resolved
    • As written on your invoice
      METFORMIN HCL BP/USP 25KG DRUM
      SUP-A PHARMA LTD · 2,000 kg · Jun 2025
      • Metformin hydrochloride · USP · CAS 1115-70-4 · 0.86pick
      • Metformin hydrochloride · BP grade · 0.81
      • Metformin (free base) · text match 0.74blocked
    • As written on your invoice
      ATORVA CA TRIHYDRATE MICRONISED
      SUPPLIER C CO · 150 kg · May 2025
      • Atorvastatin calcium · EP · micronized · 0.78pick
      • Atorvastatin calcium · USP · 0.74
      • Atorvastatin (free acid) · text match 0.69blocked
    • As written on your invoice
      AMLODIPINE BESILATE
      SUPPLIER F LTD · 400 kg · Mar 2025
      • Amlodipine besylate · EP · 0.83pick
      • Amlodipine besylate · USP · 0.79
      • Amlodipine maleate · text match 0.72blocked

    Salt form must match exactly. A high text similarity never overrides a salt-form mismatch.

  3. 03

    Benchmark on USD per kg, delivered duty paid

    Prices are normalized across incoterms, currencies and pack sizes, then placed against a fair-price band built from trade data and pooled member invoices that passed the aggregation rules.

    fair band $6.90–$8.40

    $9.80/kg DDP vs $7.60 median · 86th percentile

    Spend Diagnostic
    Sample data

    Metformin hydrochloride · USP

    API · CAS 1115-70-4 · prices normalized to USD per kg, delivered duty paid

    You paid (12-month avg)
    $9.80/kg
    Supplier A · India
    Fair-price band (P25–P75)
    $6.90–$8.40
    median $7.60
    Where you sit
    86th
    percentile
    Savings at median, 110 t/yr
    $242K/yr
    negotiate now
    Your prices vs. the fair-price bandP25–P75 · median · your purchases
    $6$8$10Oct 24Jan 25Apr 25Jul 25Sep 25

    Band built from 212 India-origin shipments and pooled member data from 6 companies · confidence high

    Sources for this material
    • Supplier A · India
      On your approved list · risk medium · you buy here today
    • Supplier B · India
      On your approved list · risk low · shift volume now
    • Supplier E · Spain
      Not on your list · CEP holder · needs qualification

    9 active FDA DMFs on file for this API

  4. 04

    Get a ranked list of what to do

    Negotiate now, shift volume, needs qualification, add a backup source. Each finding carries its value, its qualification path and its timeline, plus a printable renegotiation brief.

    finding 1 of 9

    Negotiate now · $242K per year at median

    Spend Diagnostic
    Sample data

    Founding member diagnostic · findings

    $18.4M of spend analyzed · model v1.3 · pooled benchmarks passed all aggregation rules

    Identified annual savings
    $1.36M
    9 findings
    Act now
    $0.91M
    negotiate + shift
    Needs supplier qualification
    $0.45M
    net of qualification cost
    Spend at elevated risk
    $2.7M
    3 suppliers
    Ranked findingsExport PDF · Open top brief
    1. Negotiate now
      Metformin hydrochloride · Supplier A
      Paid $9.80/kg vs. $7.60 median · 86th percentile
      $242K
    2. Needs qualification
      Losartan potassium · add Supplier J
      Net of about $300K qualification cost over 3 years
      $212K
    3. Shift volume
      Atorvastatin calcium · move 40% to Supplier K
      Both on your approved list · 17% price gap
      $196K
    4. Negotiate now
      Gabapentin · Supplier A
      Paid $41.50/kg vs. $36.20 median
      $158K
    5. Add backup source
      Supplier H · risk score 58
      Active import alert at one facility · $1.4M spend exposed
      At risk

Why an alliance · four figures

89%

of US prescriptions are generics, yet only 11.6% of drug spend.

AAM 2026 Savings Report1

>50%

of US Rx API volume comes from India and the EU, 12% is made in the United States.

USP Medicine Supply Map2

227

active drug shortages in Q2 2026, the third straight quarterly rise.

ASHP / University of Utah3

4–18months

to approve a new API source, for the prior-approval supplement alone.

ANI Pharmaceuticals 10-K4

02 · Capabilities

Built for the way raw materialsare actually bought.

Pharmacopeial grades, salt forms, incoterms, DMFs and CEPs, tariff scenarios and antitrust-safe pooling. Everything below shows how the product works; the figures are sample data.

Tariff scenarios

Sample data for illustration

Exposure by origin, the added cost at any rate, and what an approved alternative would avoid, on the demo member’s 24 months of spend.

Generic ingredients are exempt from Section 232 pharmaceutical tariffs today. Commerce review due about April 2027. A 2028–29 plan is announced, not enacted.

If generic APIs from China and India were tariffed at

Added cost per year

+$3.54M

at 25% on the customs value of exposed imports

Exposed annual spend77% of $18.4M analyzed
$14.2M
India origin$8.46M customs value
+$2.12M
China origin$5.70M customs value
+$1.43M
Avoidable with approved sourcesby shifting volume to non-exposed suppliers already on the list
$637K

Added cost per year at each rate, stacked by origin

  • India
  • China
  • avoidable
$0$5M$10M$15M$00%+$1.42M10%+$3.54M25%+$7.08M50%+$14.2M100%

Materials with a non-exposed source

  • Microcrystalline cellulose · NFUS supplier on your approved listshift now
  • Povidone K30 · USPEU supplier on your approved listshift now
  • Metformin hydrochloride · USPSpanish CEP holderneeds qualification
  • Atorvastatin calcium · EPNo non-exposed qualified source foundnone

Seven terms on this page

DDP
Delivered duty paid: freight, duty and fees paid to the buyer's door. The basis every price here is compared on.
CIF
Cost, insurance and freight to the named port. Duty, fees and inland freight still to come.
P25 to P75
The 25th to 75th percentile of prices paid for the same material, grade and origin: the fair-price band.
Salt form
The same molecule as a hydrochloride, a calcium salt or a free base is three different materials at three different prices.
DMF
Drug Master File: a supplier's confidential filing with FDA on how an ingredient is made.
CEP
Certificate of Suitability from EDQM, the European pharmacopoeial equivalent of a DMF review.
503B
An FDA-registered outsourcing facility that compounds sterile drugs in bulk for hospitals.
  1. 01

    Fair-price bands

    P25 to P75 and the median, per material, grade and origin, from trade data and pooled member invoices.

    $6$8$10Oct 24Jan 25Apr 25Jul 25Sep 25

    Metformin HCl · India · you: 86th percentile

  2. 02

    Salt-form guard

    A different salt is a different material, whatever the text similarity. The candidate is blocked, not scored lower.

    • Metformin HCl · USP0.86 · pick
    • Metformin HCl · BP0.81
    • Metformin (free base)0.74 · blocked
  3. 03

    USD per kg, delivered duty paid

    Never FOB against CIF. Duty, fees, freight and insurance are added line by line so every price sits on the same basis.

    1. $8.95CIF Newark, as invoiced
    2. + 0%MFN duty, HTS ch. 29
    3. + $0.04MPF and HMF
    4. + $0.31broker and inland freight
    5. + $0.50insurance and allocation
    6. $9.80per kg DDP
  4. 04

    Supplier risk, 0 to 100

    FDA and EDQM signals, decayed with age, per anonymized supplier. Never a score beside a real name.

    31of 100 · medium
    • Form 483, Mar 2025 +7
    • Warning letter, 2023 +4
    • No DMF for a material +10
    • Single-country sourcing +10
  5. 05

    Antitrust-safe pooling

    Benchmarks are published only when every aggregation rule passes, and only as bands and percentiles.

    Five rules, reviewed by counsel: at least 5 contributors per cell; no contributor above 25% of weight; at least a 3-month lag; bands and percentiles only; independent administration.

    ✓ Passed all aggregation rules

    The five rules in full, in the Alliance chapter
  6. 06

    The renegotiation brief

    A printable one-pager per material and supplier: target, walk-away, volume, the alternative already on your list.

    Target price (P50)
    $7.60
    Walk-away (P25–P40)
    $6.90–7.20
    Volume
    110 t/yr
    Alternative on your list
    Supplier B
    • Paid $9.80/kg against a $7.60 median across 212 India-origin shipments and six pooled members.
    • Supplier B is on your approved list at low risk; part of the volume can move now.
    • Generic ingredients are exempt from Section 232 tariffs today; review due about April 2027.

03 · Why now

The ingredients come from a few places.The clock on that has started.

The tariff clock is longer than the qualification clock only if you start now. Below, drawn to scale: the four dates, and the time it takes to approve one new API source.

  1. Today
    Generic ingredients exempt from Section 232 pharmaceutical tariffs5
    in force
  2. ~April 2027
    Commerce advises on the generic exemption5
    review due
  3. August 2028
    100% tariff on generic imports6
    announced, not enacted
  4. August 2029
    200% tariff on generic imports6
    announced, not enacted

Approving one new API source takes 4–18 months4. Start now and it lands between January 2027 and March 2028. Start after the April 2027 review and it can land in October 2028, after the announced date.

58%

of key starting materials are sole-sourced from one country.

USP Medicine Supply Map2

Over half of US prescription API volume is made in India and the EU. Twelve percent is made in the United States. The exposure sits one step further back, in the starting materials.

Approving one new API source takes 4 to 18 months4. Start now and even the slowest approval lands before the announced date. Wait for the review and it can land after it. The diagnostic shows which materials need a second source first.

04 · The Alliance

Six members’ invoices make one band.No member ever sees another’s prices.

Trade data tells you what crossed the border. Only pooled member invoices tell you what a plant actually paid, delivered duty paid, at your grade and salt form.

The pool can never be traced back to a member. The rules below are stricter than the former DOJ and FTC safety-zone thresholds and are reviewed by counsel. Benchmarks cover input purchasing only, never finished-drug selling prices.

Contributor 1
24% of the weight
Contributor 2
21% of the weight
Contributor 3
18% of the weight
Contributor 4
15% of the weight
Contributor 5
12% of the weight
Contributor 6
10% of the weight
Published
One band: P25, median, P75. Metformin hydrochloride · India · USD/kg DDP.
Six contributors, none above 25% of the weight, a three-month lag, and only the band is published.

The five aggregation rules

  1. 1At least 5 contributors per cellNo cell can be traced to one company.
  2. 2No contributor above 25% of weightNo single member dominates a band.
  3. 3At least a 3-month lagHistorical prices only. Never forward prices or bids.
  4. 4Bands and percentiles onlyMembers see P25, median and P75. Never a raw price.
  5. 5Independent administrationNo member sees another member's data. Ever.

05 · Founding membership

Founding members get the diagnostic first, and a say in what the Alliance buys together.

  • A Spend Diagnostic on your own 24 months of purchases: fair-price position, supplier risk and tariff exposure for every material.
  • Benchmarks that get tighter with every member, under aggregation rules reviewed by counsel.
  • A seat in shaping the pooled RFQs, framework agreements and backup-source contracts that follow.
Generic manufacturers
ANDA holders buying APIs, intermediates and excipients
CDMOs
Contract development and manufacturing organizations
503B outsourcing facilities
Bulk compounding for hospitals
  • Tenant isolation, encryption, audit trails and data deletion on request.
  • Designed for SOC 2. Independent administration of the pooled data.
  • Benchmarks cover input purchasing only, never finished-drug selling prices.
Request a founding-member diagnostic

Tell us who you are and roughly what you buy. We reply within two business days with the data request and a timeline. Name, company and work email are required.

We use these details only to reply to your request. No newsletter, no third parties.