Can Supply Chains Turn Pandemic-Proof?

The sudden and extreme impact on supplier/distributor network in light of the pandemic, forced policymakers and pharma companies to rethink about supply chains. Has the industry rose to the challenge and mitigated those issues while also ensuring the supply chain remains resilient to future disruptions? Let's find out.

- Ayesha Siddiqui

COVID-19 has upended the world and caused enormous challenges to economies and has brought terrible human suffering. Almost all industries have to rethink nearly every aspect of their operations and pharma is no different. In fact, this outbreak has brought more attention to the healthcare and pharma industry. Perhaps the biggest impact has been on the supply chain operations. The cracks in the supply chain are forcing policymakers and firms to reassess its management

According to PricewaterhouseCoopers’ (PwC) Health Research Institute (HRI) report, 94 per cent of life sciences executives and 86 per cent of provider executives said that improving their supply chain overall was a priority in 2021. Specifically, improving supply chain transparency was their top priority.

Over-reliance on one supply source belonging to a specific geography (India and China mainly) created significant disruption in the manufacturing especially for key starting material (KSM) in vaccines and biopharma formulations.

“Single source dependency, especially in categories like anti-infective, ARV (antiretroviral) and antimicrobials, and lack of large-scale fermentation capability created disruptions in the supply chain, said Matruprasad Priyadarshi, Senior DirectorRegional Programme Operations & General Manager - South Asia, United States Pharmacopeia (USP), an independent, scientific nonprofit organisation focused on building trust in the supply of safe, quality medicines, based in India.

Addressing supply chain vulnerabilities