About
DFE Pharma describes itself as "a global leader in pharma- and nutraceutical excipient solutions", whose excipients act "as fillers, binders, disintegrants, and in stabilizing active ingredients". The company states it has "more than a century of experience and around 450 people worldwide" and serves "over 5,000 customers in 100+ countries worldwide", headquartered in Goch, Germany. Its roots are two dairy producers, in the Netherlands and New Zealand, that became lactose excipient manufacturers and merged.
Strategic positioning
Excipient specialist in lactose, MCC and starch for oral solid dose and inhalation.
Supplier scorecard · deterministic, rules-based — not AIiHow these scores are obtained: each one is computed from this profile's listed attributes — capability checkboxes, certifications, capacity figures and coverage — by a fixed formula, recomputed on every page load. Deterministic and rules-based means the score comes from a fixed, transparent formula over listed attributes — the same inputs always produce the same score. It is not AI: there is no model, no learning, and no hidden weighting. Whether a score is relevant to you depends on your specific project: a capability that raises the number may not matter for your work, and a niche strength your project needs may barely move it. Capability scores are a directional starting point, not a verdict. A lower score does not disqualify a company or consultant, and no decision should rest on the score alone — always contact the company directly to confirm the specifics for your project.
Compliance iCounts agency registrations (FDA, EU GMP, MHRA, PMDA, WHO GMP, NMPA, PIC/S) at 6 points each capped at 35, ISO certifications at 5 each capped at 20, GMP status (cGMP commercial 25, GMP 18, Pharma-grade 10), plus DMF 7, CEP 7 and TSE/BSE statement 6. Levels: 80+ Fully GMP-compliant | 60-79 GMP-compliant | 40-59 Developing compliance | below 40 Research-grade. Whether this dimension matters for you depends on your specific project.
38Research-grade
Quality iBlends the reported audit score (up to 40 points), CAPA closure rate (up to 25) and deviation history (starts at 20 and loses 2 points per deviation), plus 8 for CoA availability and 7 for validation packages. Levels: 85+ Excellent quality | 65-84 Strong quality | 45-64 Good quality | below 45 Developing. Whether this dimension matters for you depends on your specific project.
—Not disclosed
Delivery iBlends on-time delivery percentage (up to 50 points), lead time (up to 30 - shorter is better, 2 points lost per week; 15 if not reported) and service level (Emergency supply 20, Expedited 14, Standard 8). Levels: 85+ Highly reliable | 65-84 Reliable | 45-64 Standard | below 45 Variable. Whether this dimension matters for you depends on your specific project.
—Not disclosed
Documentation iCounts documents in the profile vault at 5 points each, capped at 35, plus flags for a Certificate of Analysis (15), validation packages (15), DMF (10), CEP (10) and a TSE/BSE statement (5). Levels: 80+ Full documentation | 60-79 Strong documentation | 40-59 Established | below 40 Basic. Whether this dimension matters for you depends on your specific project.
15Basic
Regulatory iCounts supported regulatory regions at 5 points each capped at 30, the share of on-platform audits with a clean outcome (no action, NAI or pass) worth up to 30 (15 if no audits yet), FDA inspection history (20 if inspected, 10 if only registered) and QMS maturity (Validated 20, Established 12, Basic 4). Levels: 80+ Inspection-proven | 60-79 Strong regulatory | 40-59 Established | below 40 Developing. Whether this dimension matters for you depends on your specific project.
15Developing
Breadth iCounts product categories at 7 points each capped at 35, catalog size at 3 points per listed product capped at 30, modalities served at 4 each capped at 20, plus 8 for sterile-grade and 7 for GMP-grade offerings. Levels: 80+ Broad portfolio | 60-79 Multi-category | 40-59 Focused | below 40 Specialist. Whether this dimension matters for you depends on your specific project.
39Specialist
Product categories
ExcipientsLactoseMicrocrystalline celluloseStarch
Modalities served
Small molecules
Manufacturing scale
Commercial