Company insight
Sustainability in clinical supply chain management
Beyond adhering to a globally accepted moral code, why should pharmaceutical companies care about sustainability when running a clinical trial? Clinigen describes why choosing to partner with an environmentally conscious clinical supply provider can help shorten timelines and cut costs.
nvironmental concerns take up a significant portion of the public narrative. The outcome of the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference policies to limit impacts associated with climate change is the latest example. As such, the pressure on the pharmaceutical industry to reduce its environmental impact is undeniable.
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Sustainability in the clinical trial space: The shift from an ideal to an economic imperative Global supply chains have become increasingly strained over the past years due to a variety of factors, the most notable of which related to global crises of the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. Due to material shortages, clinical trial sponsors are competing for a limited pool of drug manufacturing resources. As costs increase, consequently drug waste has become an economic concern where in previous years, wastage was not a priority.
Reducing drug waste
Drug wastage equates to increased costs, transport and a larger carbon footprint. To minimise drug waste, two strategies may be explored: ■ Novel clinical supply models: The flexibility offered by on-demand packaging and labelling (or packaging and labelling just-in-time) eliminates waste and reduces trial costs. Clinical trials with expensive and limited supply medicines can greatly benefit from packaging and labelling as needed. With on-demand, clinical trial supplies are packaged and labelled after the receipt of the shipment request. Once a shipment request is received, only the requested quantity is packaged
Clinical Trials Insight /
www.worldpharmaceuticals.net
Prioritising sustainability concerns will see more benefits beyond helping the planet.
and labelled, therefore requiring a significantly fewer bulk drugs at the start.
■ Risk-based optimisation for clinical supplies: More than 25% of all clinical supplies that are packaged and labelled are never used, even with expense forecasting and implementing lean. In fact, for most companies this is closer to 50%. A risk-based optimisation of clinical trial supplies can minimise drug waste and significantly cut trial supply costs. In utilising innovative data-driven software, programme optimisation allows a clinical trial to evolve with the required flexibility and right drug allocation at the right time, reducing trial drug needs by 20-60%.
In addition, at Clinigen, one of the ways the company cuts back on waste during shipping and distribution is through utilising reusable insulated shipper boxes when sending temperature-sensitive biological samples or IMPs to trial sites.
Ensuring patients receive the correct medicine as quickly, efficiently and safely as possible should remain the primary goal of any clinical supplies management partner. Ultimately, a sustainably sound clinical supply chain will help clinical trial sponsors optimise resources and maintain focus on getting the required drugs to patients faster.
Choosing a sustainable partner By considering sustainability, Clinigen serves a dual mission of meeting patient needs and addressing environmental concerns. By working with Clinigen’s team of seasoned clinical supply experts, sponsors can benefit from a customised supply strategy that meets the exact needs of the required project. This can include introducing new methods of managing clinical trial supplies with built-in flexibility to reduce overall waste, streamline processes and ultimately shorten timelines. ●
www.clinigen.com 21
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