Patient well-being should be at the heart of all decisions made within the life sciences. Despite this, other factors often compete for decision-makers’ attention and ultimately distract from the focus on patients. While much of the supply chain may seem far removed from patients, it can have a significant impact on medicine delivery and patient well-being.
A patient-centric supply chain is one which puts the needs of the patient first. To support the rise of more bespoke treatments and fully personalized medicines, patient-centric supply chains must be developed. This presents new challenges to logistics specialists as they endeavor to ensure patients receive the right care, at the right time, and in the right condition.
But a patient centric approach should not just focus on medicine delivery, it needs to encompass the entire process from discovery, to development, to clinical trials and manufacturing. As a truly global industry, materials need to cross borders and align with different regulations throughout their journey, increasing demands on the supply chain. Logistics experts connect all stages and locations of this complex network and play a major role in delivering a renewed patient focus.
Understanding traditional healthcare supply chains
Traditionally, the pharmaceutical industry has taken a broadbrush approach to medicines, developing treatments designed to treat huge numbers of people in the same way. However, as our understanding of genetics has grown, so has our appreciation for the benefits of treatments that are tailored to treat individuals.
Traditional supply chains worked in a similar way. With millions of patients to treat all over the world, the main drivers were cost, efficiency and delivering the correct stock levels. The move to a more personalized model raises challenges around inefficiencies, driven by a lack of flexibility, poor communication between stakeholders, and the failure to anticipate patient-specific needs. This can ultimately negatively impact patient care with delays in treatment, decreased patient satisfaction and potential harm. A patient-centric approach to logistics shifts the focus to personalization, outcomes, and ultimately the patient experience.
Key principles of a patient-centric supply chain
To build a comprehensive supply chain that meets patients’ needs, the main priorities are:
- Flexibility: A one-size fits all approach will not work. Each solution requires a tailored approach, guided by logistics expertise and the unique needs of each organization.
- Data-Driven Decision Making: Using advanced analytics, AI, and real-time data can help experts anticipate logistics needs and optimize supply chain efficiency.
- Collaboration: Ensuring that all stakeholders work together seamlessly. An agnostic approach to technology and packaging partners can help to ensure this flexibility.
- Transparency: Offering clear visibility across the supply chain assisted by adopting new tracking technologies.
- Agility: Rapidly adjust to unforeseen circumstances like supply shortages or global logistics challenges.
- Experience: Employing people with experience in the scientific and pharma industry in logistics roles can aid in understanding and overcoming challenges.
- Risk mitigation: Taking proactive steps to assess and reduce risk through lane mapping and packaging validation, enabling rapid responses to any issues.
- Sustainability: Considering sustainability in all processes to support industry goals and future proof supply chains.
In order to deliver life-changing treatments to patients who need them, organizations need to build robust supply chains throughout the drug development process. Logistics experts can help to ease the burden on scientists so that they can focus on the research that improves patients’ lives.
Technology as an enabler
Recent technology developments are already having a significant impact on supply chains and will be essential in ensuring greater patient focus. Leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning can help to predict demand, optimize routes, reduce waste and anticipate supply disruptions.
For personalized medicines and cell and gene therapies, chain of custody and condition monitoring are essential to ensure product safety and comply with regulations. GPS tracking and advanced temperature sensors allow for real-time tracking, improving shipment visibility.
This is further facilitated by cloud connectivity and supply chain management tools that allow real-time visibility and coordination of supply chains. Integration of systems such as TrakCel’s OCELLOS platform ensures tracking of both chain of identity and chain of custody for cell and gene therapy supply chains. Implementation of blockchain can further help to track chain of custody and ensure security and transparency throughout the supply chain.
Personalized supply chains for autologous cell therapies
A US-based cell therapy developer needed to transport cells to the manufacturing facility in Europe and then back to patients. As living drug products, cell therapies have complex demands, including short life spans and narrow treatment parameters. It was therefore essential to provide real-time information regarding a shipment’s location and condition to ensure safe delivery of these critical materials.
Delivering cells successfully can often be a complex, multi-step process. This particular application included a number of manufacturing and patient sites across a variety of locations globally. To protect against potential incidents such as flight delays and cancellations, expert logistics planning was required, including devising and monitoring alternative supply routes. To meet these challenges, the latest temperature-controlled packaging and monitoring technologies were used, as well as chain of custody tracking. (1)
Challenges remain
The integration of new technologies can dramatically enhance supply chains, but challenges remain. Data privacy and security are paramount in any industry, but particularly within life sciences due to the sensitive nature of private healthcare information. Any new technologies incorporated into the supply chain must also protect this private data.
In many cases, these new technologies are not designed for interoperability, making integration of diverse systems difficult. There are also cost implications to any technology, and with healthcare systems straining to support an aging population, cost remains a leading issue. Partnering with logistics experts can help to overcome these challenges, while also ensuring regulatory compliance and protection of product quality.
Problem-solving in supply
Rocket Pharmaceuticals, a US-based cell and gene therapy developer, needed to rapidly transport time- and temperature-sensitive biospecimens between a hospital in central London and a medical genomics lab based in the Netherlands. Following Brexit, the shipping lane was located outside the European Union’s single market and customs union, whereas the destination was within the EU. This added increased regulatory compliance and customs clearance challenges, including greater risk of administrative delays, to an already tight timescale.
Precise route planning, pilot shipping and expedited regulatory approval through an experienced life science logistics provider was required to solve this problem. By thinking creatively and working closely with the agencies involved, these potential delays were overcome. (2)
The future of patient-centric supply chains
The benefits of a patient focused supply change are evident, but all stages of the process need to align. The shift towards personalized treatments will require tailored transportation solutions, with new technologies being key to implementing these strategies. But challenges remain, and to ensure technologies are implemented in an integrated way that supports efficient medicine development you should connect with a trusted life science logistics specialist to develop supply chain solutions tailored to your needs.
*** This article originally published on pages 46-47 in the IBI Journal. ***
References
- https://www.biocair.com/case-studies/supply-chains-for-autologous-cell-therapies
- https://www.biocair.com/case-studies/skills-ensure-rapid-delivery-of-vital-child-biospecimens-0
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Vincent Howard is Biocair's CEO, joining in 1993 as the company’s first science graduate. With extensive experience in global operations and sales, he has built strong relationships with key clients, offering tailored logistics solutions. Passionate about customer service, Vincent believes it starts with care for the people you work alongside. This belief carries through in how Biocair serves clients and, ultimately, the patients at the end of every shipment.
