of REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals) is self-explanatory. The U.S. Pharmacopeia codifies quality standards for Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients. As these standards are observed worldwide, they contribute also to the emergence of a uniform worldwide set-up of the top tier fine chemical companies. In terms of size, resources, and complexity of the chemical process technologies mastered, the fine chemical companies can be broadly divided into three segments, each of them accounting for approximately the same turnover, namely about $10 billion. The top tier, about twenty, has sales in excess of $250 million per year (see Table 3). Most are not pure players but divisions or b.u.'s of large, multinational companies. Their share varies between one percent or less for BASF and Pfizer, all the way to 100% for Cambrex, USA; Divi's Laboratories, India, and F.I.S. Italy. All have extensive resources in terms of chemists and other specialists, plants, process knowledge, backwards integration, international presence, etc. The combined revenues of the top 20 fine chemical companies amounted to $10 billion in 2009, representing about 30% of the figure for the whole industry. The leading companies are typically divisions of large, diversified chemical companies. In terms of geography, 9 of the top 20 are located in Europe, which is recognized as the cradle of the fine chemical industry. This is e.g. the case for the world's #1 company, Lonza, headquartered in Basel. Switzerland. Custom manufacturing prevails in northern Europe; the manufacture of active substances for generics, in southern Europe. The second largest geographic area is Asia, housing 7 of the top 20. With 4 large companies, the US rank last. Whereas the European and U.S. pharma industry constitutes the main customer base for most fine chemical companies, some have a significant share of products and services for the agrochemical industry. Examples are Archimica, CABB, Saltigo (all Germany), DSM (The Netherlands) and Hikal, India. Several large pharmaceutical companies market fine chemicals as subsidiary activity to their production for captive use, e.g. Abbott, USA; Bayer Schering Pharma, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Germany; Daiichi-Sankyo (after the takeover of Ranbaxy), Japan; Johnson & Johnson, USA; Merck KGaA, Germany; Pfizer (formerly Upjohn), US. Large fine chemical companies, in contrast to mid-sized and small ones, are characterized by A Lack of Economy in Size. As most fine chemicals are produced in quantities of not more than a few 10 tons per year in multipurpose plants, there is little or