Kinaxis: Pharma Seeing Euro-wide Supply Chain Challenges
The UK pharmaceutical sector remains beset with supply chain issues stemming from the pandemic and the country’s exit from the European Union, a top supply chain executive says.
Kourosh Samini is a Director at Kinaxis, a company that provides supply chain management software.
Samini told Healthcare Digital that Brexit and the pandemic have compounded pressure on the pharmaceutical supply chain “by creating new regulatory obstacles and exacerbating delays in the import and export process".
He adds: “The UK continues to face the ‘new normal’ of significant medication shortages, which started after Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic.
"UK pharmacists now face the daunting task of navigating daily medication shortages, often spending hours on the telephone trying to source unavailable products," Samini says.
Samini adds that, when medications cannot be found, patients are forced to ration their doses or, in extreme cases, go without treatment entirely.
His views are echoed by a report from independent health think tank the Nuffield Trust, published in April 2024, which revealed pharmaceutical companies are now issuing twice as many warnings of impending shortages compared to three years ago.
Pharma supply problems 'a Europe-wide issue'
Although the UK has been hit particularly hard due to Brexit-related regulatory changes, Samini stresses that this is a Europe-wide issue.
“Earlier this year reports of a scarcity of HIV prevention drugs in Germany sparked global headlines,” he says, “while just last month, French pharmacists staged their first industry strike in a decade, citing concerns about drug shortages as an important factor."
The Pharmaceutical Group of the European Union, a trade association representing community pharmacists, has identified gaps in information, tools, and legal solutions across the EU that are exacerbating the crisis.
Samini says that to address these challenges the industry is turning to technological solutions: "Artificial intelligence can be an important tool in mitigating the medicine supply issues. AI enables pharmaceutical companies to identify risks earlier, streamline manufacturing processes and make informed decisions to mitigate drug shortage challenges much more quickly than traditional methods."
He adds: "By identifying the risk of possible shortages before they happen, supply chain shortages can not only be mitigated but even prevented.
“AI will alert the pharmaceutical company of the upcoming risk, allowing them to make an informed decision around what action to take."
These actions, he says, might include:
- Increasing production of specific products
- Finding alternative suppliers for active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs)
- Strategically stockpiling medication in anticipation of future demand spikes
Drug shortages hitting patients with epilepsy & diabetes
The shortages are affecting a wide range of medications, Samini adds: "This is affecting all sorts of medicines, and each month brings a fresh wave of reports detailing drug shortages that affect patients with a wide range of conditions, including epilepsy, type 2 diabetes, cystic fibrosis and more."
Kinaxis, Samini company, is working to address these issues through its AI-powered supply chain orchestration platform, Kinaxis Maestro.
"Maestro allows life sciences companies to use AI to simplify multi-year supply chain planning, predict and plan for future scenarios with smart modelling, and gain a comprehensive, always-on digital view of your supply chain to ensure maximum agility," he explains.
Looking to the future of pharmaceutical supply chains, Samini says that “with careful navigation and strategic implementation” the pharmaceutical sector will increasingly use AI to enhance supply chain efficiency, improve patient outcomes, and ultimately revolutionise the delivery of vital medication".