High Value Biologic Drugs Will Demand A Comprehensive Supply Chain

By Ariette van Strien, Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations, Marken

The dramatic shift in our industry from small molecule drugs to high value biopharmaceuticals is increasing the need to focus on logistics and supply chain management. Eight of the top 10 best -selling global drug products will be biologic drugs and require 2-8 C temperature controlled storage and handling by 2016 according to Evaluate Pharma predictions. The value of these products is expected to grow by almost 48% to $192B in sales by 2016 according to Evaluate Pharma. Single drug shipments can be valued between one and three million dollars with strict temperature restrictions. The bottom line is we are banking on higher value drugs that demand higher quality supply chain and temperature management. 

The logistics behind the scenes for transportation and storage of temperature sensitive drugs or drug products takes constant monitoring and attention to ensure their stability and viability. As an industry, we need to think up front about how to ensure the stable transportation and storage of these products throughout the drug’s lifecycle, starting with clinical trials but also more and more in our day to day use after drug commercialization.