A DOSE OF MEDICAL ADVANCEMENT

Taamara de Silva reviews pharma’s critical role through the protracted COVID-19 pandemic

Pharmaceutical manufacturing and distribution businesses faced an unexpected challenge in the development and delivery of COVID-19 vaccines. They were needed at record speed despite the disruptions in manufacturing under lockdown conditions, supply chain constraints and hard-hitting economic turbu­lence, as the demand for essential goods and services skyrocketed.

Pharma has so far delivered in excess of 10 billion vaccine doses and also kept supplies of most other medicines on track. This is a remarkable achieve­ment given the situation.

The industry – which encompasses R&D, production and distribution of medications worldwide – was estimated to be worth some US$ 1.27 trillion in 2020, according to Statista. It is led by Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer and Novartis.

Modern organisations with the right tools and technologies have been quick to adjust to change while businesses still operating with archaic systems are struggling to adapt to the disruptions brought about by the pandemic.

Despite pharma being more insulated from supply chain shocks compared to other in­dustries – since they tend to carry higher inventory levels – stocks weren’t sufficient during the pandemic.

So many entities have res­pond­ed by trying to discover, develop and market medicines more efficiently but have invested relatively little effort in reconfiguring their manufacturing and distri­bution operations. Yet, the supply chain is as important since it’s the link between laboratories and the marketplace.

The detection of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 has once again highlighted the impact of global inequities that have characterised this pandemic – with African countries receiving expired doses due to limited access, shorter shelf life and supply chain constraints. For instance, pharmaceutical in­dus­try experts have identified up to 20 percent spoilage rates for vaccine wastage due to tem­perature failures in transport.

The destruction of expired COVID-19 vaccines recently reversed months of hard work in getting supplies to countries in Africa. Part of it can be attributed to inconsistencies in global supply chains, and calls for a concerted effort to identify solutions to increase visibility, improve ease of access and introduce advanced inventory management systems.

Supply chain resilience requires elements such as end-to-end transparency, routine stress testing, reassessment and focus on reducing exposure to shocks. Strategic partnerships also play a major role in delivering the last quarter mile of the journey, which is critical during a crisis.

Organisations often use scenario planning and simulation models to anticipate their vulnerabilities, quantify the potential impacts and mitigate effects. For example, during the pandemic, a leading pharma entity used a digital twin simulation to understand the impact of production slowdowns and shutdowns on supplies of medication. One of the most common strategies for building resi­liency is to expand the network of suppliers. Relying on a single source for critical components or raw materials is as unwise as depending on multiple suppliers that are concentrated in the same place.

But multi-sourcing isn’t the only answer.

A business can also strike a better balance between ‘just in time’ and ‘just in case’ inventory levels, strengthen its physical assets to withstand hurricanes and storm surges, and provide financial support to distressed but essential suppliers.

Currently, there is a strong driver within the industry to transform the way in which pharmaceuticals are being produced – from batch-wise to continuous processing. Ongoing manufacture offers several interesting advantages to improve the sustainability, footprint, robustness and efficiency of the process.

The sudden move from site-based clinical trials to their virtual versions during lockdowns has opened up new ways of getting these done quickly. It’s the same with diagnostics and the rapid roll out of home testing kits. These advances augur well for the industry and can be replicated across other production lines too.

With IoT becoming more mainstream and visibility technologies readily available, manufacturers can track each shipment from departure to destination.

The cold chain, which is a low temperature controlled supply process, is generally coupled with IoT. This concept has accelerated amidst the on­going health crisis and is now worth almost five billion dollars.

The need for adaptability, precision and agility has never been more critical to pharma­ceu­tical manufacturers, health­care providers and their patients. This can be achieved with real-time supply chain visibility and powerful data insights.

Global cooperation has emerged as the bedrock for driving rapid innovation. Shared action is required to expand safe and effective pharmaceutical manufacturing. And working together to strengthen and assist countries in close coordination with existing multilateral mecha­nisms is invaluable.