I've been considering this for a while, and now that I have some investment funds I'm thinking of starting my pharmaceutical company. (For now mostly supplements and anti aging products);

Since there are some people involved with the industry around here, I thought it would be worthwhile to ask for some advice.

My main question right now is what kind of machinery should I use to produce the pills?

You, sir, are looking for pharmaceutical engineering, so check out something like this (pharmaceuticalonline com -- sorry, I can't post links yet). Also check out liquidators all over the internet and in your area to see what's being sold, usually you can find some old-but-good machinery.

I am not sure how many people have started pharma-engineering from scratch, but I'd be interested in hearing about your progress. There are many amateur chemists out there that would probably love to start experimenting with home automation to produce chemicals of their own choosing (even if they are the equivalent of fireworks and small, funny special effects)-- as a businessman, you might notice this is a way to offset your cost of figuring it all out, unless you have the funds to go hire the right people who are already experienced.

- Bryan

Where will the company be based? If you need any interns for BS jobs, I would love to help out~

Well the first place you should start is with the FTC and FDA. After you know you are not going to be stepping on their toes, you move onto building a business model. You can't just buy some equipment and hope for the best. If you are deadly serious about building a real, legitimate business then you need to begin with planning and business strategy.

First of all, before thinking about how to make the pills, you need to consider proprietary rights and ensuring you have the legal right to produce whatever supplements or anti-aging products you want to produce. There are obviously compounds and methods of manufacturing that are patented - you have to cover yourself in that department by hiring a lawyer. Then you need to look into licensing, it only takes one phone call to have you shut down if you don't have the proper licensing.

Once you have written a thorough business plan, figured out your licensing, make sure you fully understand the FTC and FDA regulations and have hired a lawyer to cover your ass - then you can think about manufacturing pills.

Another thing most people don't realize is a lot of the pills you find are actually made in China. There are only a handful of companies that still manufacture them in the country. So another option could be to outsource the actual manufacturing to somewhere else - then just put your brand name on it.

This is how most companies do things nowadays. Equipment is expensive and keeping expenses to a minimum for a startup is a must.

Now let's go back to the business plan. Most people think that if they make a product and put it on the market - people will buy it. They could not be more wrong. You need a definite and concrete business plan, scalability in place and a full operations system to run the company - at least if you want to do things properly.

Another huge point is actually selling the product. You need a concrete marketing plan that will allow you to carve a niche into the marketplace and then dominate that niche. I suggest you read www.thegaryhalbertletter.com and get David Ogilvy's book - he was one of the best marketers who ever lived. As a startup, your company would really gain an advantage by going with a Blue Ocean Strategy, which you can find in the book "The Blue Ocean Strategy".

Then you need to think of actually launching a product, advertising, business operations, product fulfillment, turnover rates and expansion plans. Planning and preparation are absolutely essential if you want to ensure your business will succeed. A Failure To Plan Is A Plan To Fail.