An explosion in M&A activity surrounding “patient-centric” approaches to healthcare is set to further reshape pharmaceutical supply chains.
DHL’s life sciences and healthcare VP for EMEA, Ilhami Arslanoglu, said a “tremendous change” seen over the past decade in biopharma was being “accelerated”.
“You now have more than 4,000 cell and gene therapies being tested in the US, with the advanced pharma sector set to grow 14% to 25% by 2030,” he said.
“It is the growth in biopharma and gene cell therapies that is behind this, with M&A activity in the biopharma sphere strong – last year there were 140 deals, worth some $110bn.”
By contrast, the conventional pharma sector is set to grow 5%-6% over the same period, even so, it was the growth in advanced pharma that had energised supply chain operators, said Mr Arslanoglu.
He explained that the changes in medication were bringing new logistics requirements, describing a “heavy” move to frozen transport (registered at -20 degrees) as well as an increase in deep-freeze movements (those registered at -70 to -80 degrees).
Marta Duda, senior director for life sciences and healthcare at DHL Express, at the same event, said: “The industry trend is for smaller, colder, more direct shipments.
“The industry is being transformed by the patient-centric approach being adopted by the healthcare sector. This means taking into account the lifestyle of patients and adapting the treatment to fit their needs. Previously, patients were simply told what the treatment was and had to adapt to what the physician and medical sector was telling them.”
That previous approach meant there was, by and large, one treatment for everyone with a particular ailment, and healthcare providers could simply order one large, palletised shipment.
With biopharma and gene therapies, treatment is being individualised to a specific patient through what Ms Duda called a “direct to delivery” model.
Both Ms Duda and Mr Arslanoglu noted how the pandemic precipitated the acceleration of biopharma, and she noted that it had led to “patients, by necessity, being treated at home, and they don’t want to give that up”.
Asked how DHL Express facilitated made-to-order, time-sensititve shipments, Ms Duda said the company used its scheduled network.
She explained: “We do not need to rely on chartered services to facilitate these shipments, nor do we believe this would provide a good service. Instead we capitalise on our scheduled services, which also ensures stability in service quality.”
