How much ownership do you take in your pharma supply chain?

The best way to mitigate challenges in the pharma supply chain is by infusing a sense of responsibility and ownership in the workforce. GPLS 2024 delved deep into this subject and encouraged the audience to be more proactive and collaborative.

- Rajarshi Chatterjee, Libin Chacko Kurian

Why should nothing go wrong in pharmaceutical supply chains?

There is no need to stress how complex it is to move life-saving medicines. The sensitive nature of shipments, the expertise required to handle them, the value of these drugs, the places where they have to reach, the reasons are endless. However, what is more important than its complexity is its purpose and the fact that the world can’t afford to have wasted pharmaceuticals. Ultimately, a patient is waiting at the end of the line.

"For us, what is inside the box is life," as Tushar Jani, Group Chairman, Cargo Service Center, puts it.

All pharma shipments are not made equal. There are pharma shipments that need extra care and attention. For instance, Sanjay Vyas, Global SBU Head - Clinical Logistics & Global Safety & PV Services and MD India, Parexel, spoke about the logistics intricacies behind clinical trials.

“Patients recruited for clinical trials are often in the final stage of their lives, with the trial representing their last hope. When dealing with such a scenario, the supply chain and logistics standards become even higher. That’s one of the reasons why we cannot afford to go wrong,” he said.

"In a clinical trial scenario, particularly from a logistics and supply chain perspective, you’re working with a drug still under investigation. The therapeutic area or disease is being explored, and the drug’s safety and efficacy have yet to be proven. Consequently, the supply chain standards are also not yet validated," he added.

Vyas also mentioned that, unlike regular bulk production of drugs already approved and available in the market, clinical trial drugs are produced in a limited capacity.