US pharmaceutical supply chains due for radical overhaul

A new report release by Price Waterhouse Coopers US, has stated that US pharmaceutical supply chains are due for a radical overhaul with many companies ill-equipped and under-utilised to cope with new medicines, cost pressures and health reform expectations.

As demand grows for more customized products and services — and as the nature of those products and services becomes more complex — "next-generation" supply chains will become an increasingly important source of differentiation for makers of medicines, and will be a more prominent part in the strategic thinking of industry leaders, according to PwC.

The report, Supplying Your Future: Which Path Will You Take?, outlines six trends that will fundamentally  change the way pharmaceutical companies make and distribute their products.

These trends are:
1. Health reform shifts emphasis from product features to patient outcomes
2. New products types
3. Incremental product launch alters the sales curve
4. New modes of healthcare delivery
5. Growing importance of emerging markets
6. Greater public scrutiny

"The current pharmaceutical supply chain worked well when the 'blockbuster' paradigm prevailed, but pharma's focus in a post-health reform world is shifting from products to patients, and their supply chain processes need to adopt the speed and agility of other, more consumer-oriented industries such as consumer electronics and mass retailing," said Wynn Bailey,  head of supply chain strategies with PwC.

"In a world where outcomes count for everything, health organizations need to acquire a much deeper understanding of patients and their healthcare needs. Information is the new currency, and the data behind the product may soon be as valuable as the product itself," he said.

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