Clinical supplies & logistics
Kimberly Finn envisages a situation where test sites can periodically receive used or expired medications from remote patient.
give customers a detailed overview of where exactly materials are in the reverse supply chain. As these references to client portals hint, technology can be a real boon here. Groleau, for his part, emphasises that many so-called ‘interactive response technologies’ (IRTs) have modules that can document the information needed for reverse logistics. “The better systems available have extended the capabilities to include the final reverse logistics activities.” Finn makes a similar point, noting that GPS tracking is just one way of keeping abreast of medications and other materials both during a trial and after it ends.
“Sometimes your hands are tied, and you have to have country-level solutions and handle everything very individually.”
Kimberly Finn
The global reverse logistics market has a CAGR of this percentage.
PR Newswire 16 5.6%
More to the point, there are signs that these multipronged efforts are paying off. As one recent study notes, the global reverse logistics market is now enjoying a CAGR of 5.6%, even if only 20% of medical device firms have yet to fully embrace it. Examine the benefits of reverse logistics and you have to imagine this figure will rise sharply over the coming years. As Groleau says, “efficiency and thoroughness of completing the reverse logistics for a trial is the biggest impact proper planning will have,” adding that avoiding a post-trial paperchase will save money too. Finn agrees. With enough pre-planning, she envisages a situation where test sites can periodically receive used or expired medications from remote patients, before passing it all on to a centralised destruction facility. Preparing for a global recall of a product, or for trials that terminate abruptly, is another part of the jigsaw.
All told, in fact, Finn speculates that serious reverse logistics could ensure efficiency savings of up to 50%.
The final frontiers?
All the same, it would be wrong to imply that a path to the reverse logistics uplands is debris free. For starters, researchers and their external partners must increasingly contend with the spectre of accountability. Think about it like this: new gadgets make it simpler than ever to follow drugs from the trial site to the incinerator. But in a world where trial patients are often left to self-administer drugs remotely at home, how can trial insiders know how much is being left in an IV drip? Bans on international transfers from some jurisdictions are another issue. Again, regulatory databases and the like can mitigate much of the confusion. But that is not the whole story. “Sometimes your hands are tied,” warns Finn, “and you have to have country-level solutions and handle everything very individually.”
Despite these challenges, however, both Groleau and Finn argue that reverse logistics is here to stay. Once again, Groleau suggests that technology will be the major driver of adoption, explaining that the integration of “technologies involved in the supply chain will be the biggest leap in simplifying the reverse logistics process”. Finn, meanwhile, comes at the question of the future from a different angle. For her, the growing internationalism of clinical trials, cross- border trickery notwithstanding, means reverse logistics is more crucial than ever. Fair enough: now that global borders are again open for business, trial organisers should once more expect patients to start globetrotting. It goes without saying that their drugs surely will too – ideal territory for reverse logistics experts who want to see the world. ●
Clinical Trials Insight /
www.worldpharmaceuticals.net
WESTOCK PRODUCTIONS/
Shutterstock.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53
