keynote feature


Changing production patterns in the global pharmaceutical and general healthcare sector are presenting new challenges for carriers, forwarders and other logistics providers serving that market, Phillip Hastings reports


Pharmaceuticals – evolving requirements


O 12 AIR LOGISTICSCHINA


ne notable development is the increasing number of drugs losing their patent to become generic products, with a resulting requirement for lower- cost transport. A second is the growth


of manufacturing operations in emerging countries such as China and India which lack some of the supporting logistics infrastructure available in developed regions of the world. Bob Gahan, US-based vice president global sales -


healthcare for freight forwarder DB Schenker, explained the repercussions of the patent-expiry issue for logistics services providers: “Globally, there is quite a shift from the manufacture of patented drugs to generic drug production – 2011, for example, will see more than US$30 billion worth of product lose its patent protection to become generic. “As that happens, much of the production will be


shifted to lower cost manufacturing in locations like India,” he stated. Such trends have implications when it comes to the choice of transport service to ship products, Gahan


continued. “Higher value patented products often have enough profit margin in them to allow companies to use a premium service, maybe involving an active (electrically cooled/heated) temperature-controlled container,” he said. “However, a low-cost


generic product requires lower-cost transport. That is where the real challenge is – how do you move such products in a secure temperature- controlled manner when the shipper cannot afford a premium service?” One answer to that


issue, said Gahan, is to make greater use of ocean freight rather


Gahan notes shift of production to lower cost centres like India


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