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Supply Chain Logistics

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interview, Tracy Lopez, North America’s head of customer service and 3PL operations for Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, explains:

How the third-party logistics (3PL) process typically operates

Key factors manufacturers should take into account when choosing a 3PL, along with the range of services a reliable 3PL should offer

The important lessons learned since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic that have contributed to improving operational efficiencies

Trends within the pharmaceutical industry that 3PLs should be preparing for

The role of 3PLs in shaping the pharmaceutical industry over the next decade

Tracy Lopez uncovers the fundamentals pertaining to third-party logistics providers.

Selecting the Right 3PL

 interview, Donald Prentiss, founder and CEO of Qualthera, explains:

The role that compounding pharmacies play in the pharmaceutical supply chain

How compounding pharmacies helped bridge the gap for patients in need of their medication (especially during the tirzepatide shortage), while dispelling the notion that commercialized and compounded drugs are competing with one another.

What he believes needs to be done amid the various legal battles pertaining to GLP-1s that are currently taking place

The inspiration behind Qualthera, along with its objectives

Donald Prentiss discusses the value of these pharmacies, especially during shortages.

A Closer Look Into the Role of Compounding Pharmacies 

The history behind the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA)

The latest DSCSA exemptions and what that means for trading partners

How this piece of legislation and AI are able to intertwine

Nicholas Saraceno offers an overview of the legislation and how it impacts the pharma supply chain.

Nov. 27 is Here: What Does That Mean for DSCSA?

 interview, Rob Sobie, chief product officer of Intelliguard, a provider of hospital medication management and data intelligence solutions, discusses:

The key challenges that hospitals are currently facing

Why he believes that the drug supply chain is failing

Successes surrounding the implementation of RFID technology

A high-level overview of the Drug Supply Chain Security Act, along with his thoughts on the latest exemptions that were recently announced by the FDA

Rob Sobie outlines the importance of supply chain transparency for the benefit of patients.  

The Impact of RFID: Enhancing Medication Management

 interview, Chris Williams, International Managing Director of Alloga Europe and ICS, discusses:

What’s needed to support advanced therapy medicinal products from a temperature standpoint

The current state of third-party logistics (3PLs) in Europe and what areas need to improve

How expectations of pharma companies have changed in terms of what they expect a 3PL partner to provide

How Alloga’s new facilities in Spain and the Netherlands fit within the company’s strategy

What he believes 3PLs can do to support supply chains more efficiently

Chris Williams expands on the services that a third-party logistics (3PL) partner should offer, while sharing ways to alleviate standard supply chain issues.

The Capabilities of a 3PL Provider

 interview, Peter Ax, founder and CEO of UpScriptHealth, a direct-to-consumer telehealth company, describes:

Why he believes ongoing and active drug shortages are the highest they’ve been since ASHP began tracking this in 2001

The current landscape of shortages in general

How drug shortages directly affect patients

What is needed to alleviate these issues surrounding the supply chain

Peter Ax provides insight as to industry’s lack of supply, along with how to mitigate these issues. 

Addressing the Drug Shortage Crisis

 interview, Chip Davis, president and CEO of the Healthcare Distribution Alliance (HDA), a national organization that represents primary pharmaceutical distributors, discusses:

The benefits of the Distribution Management Conference, and the value it provides for the industry

, including a look at how the challenges presented to distributors now differ, and how they are being addressed

Progress that has been made toward full connectivity since the FDA announced a “stabilization period” to finalize implementation of the DSCSA before November 2024, along with some of the most significant issues for trading partners

Some of the root causes of drug shortages, and how distributors are work to mitigate them

Key initiatives and plans that the HDA is focused on for the second half of 2024, and how these will shape the future of the pharmaceutical supply chain.

Chip Davis recaps the organization’s Distribution Management Conference and addresses distributors’ preparedness for DSCSA implementation. 

Overcoming Supply Chain Challenges

 interview, Allen Jacques, a life sciences industry thought leader at Kinaxis, dives into:

What he sees as limitations of current government efforts when it comes to boosting domestic production of essential medicines, and why they aren’t sufficient

The challenges that generic drug manufacturers are facing today

Why more resilient and transparent supply chains are necessary in the pharmaceutical industry, and how these can help mitigate shortage issues

Allen Jacques explains the history behind medications’ lack of supply, while offering ways to help alleviate their impact. 

Mitigating Drug Shortages

 interview, Brandon Newman, Xevant’s CEO and founder, explores:

The implications of the Inflation Reduction Act’s price negotiation provisions, and how these could result in ripple effects across the healthcare system

The role that pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and other intermediaries' play when it comes to determining drug costs, and how spread pricing is involved

How Xevant helps improve drug cost transparency efforts

Strategies for affordability Newman would offer the pharma industry that can be implemented immediately

Brandon Newman joins The Pharmaceutical Commerce Podcast to discuss the evolving role of PBMs, including the importance of drug price transparency. 

A Further Examination of Pharmacy Benefit Managers

 interview, Rob Besse, Archbow Consulting’s VP of distribution services, shares:

A general overview of how the 3PL process works, using his 20-plus of pharma supply chain experience as added insight

The factors that manufacturers should consider when selecting a 3PL, along with the array of services that a quality 3PL should provide

Valuable lessons he believes 3PLs learned during the COVID-19 pandemic that have helped improve efficiencies

Trends affecting the pharma industry that 3PLs be on the lookout for the rest of the year

Podcast is available directly on SoundCloud.

Rob Besse offers a breakdown of the third-party logistics (3PL) process, including lessons that these providers have learned coming out of the pandemic.  

A First-Hand Account of 3PLs

The US president delays tariffs that comply with the 2020 USMCA for one month, with reciprocal tariffs still expected to go into effect by April 2. 

Trump Delays Certain Tariffs on Canada and Mexico

The agreement—powered by YASKAWA's Maholo robot—aims to address challenges in production and commercialization while offering access to academic and startup communities.

Astellas, YASKAWA Partner to Form New Cell Therapy Manufacturing Joint Venture

NovoCare will offer the GLP-1 injection to cash-paying patients for a discounted $499 per month. 

Novo Nordisk Launches DTP Delivery Service for Wegovy

The 25% tax on various imports have gone into effect, resulting in retaliatory tariffs from the impacted nations. 

Tariffs on Canada and Mexico Now Official

After an initial 30-day pause, the US president plans to re-enact the import taxes on the nation’s trading partners—while also doubling the 10% tariff on China. 

Trump Intends to Impose 25% Tariffs on Canada, Mexico Starting March 4

Streamlining Prescription Processes

, Tom Dorsett, CEO, RazorMetrics, describes how polypharmacy refers to the use of five or more medications by an individual, and it is becoming an increasingly prominent issue in the United States. Polypharmacy has been recognized for years but is growing more significant, especially within Medicaid, Medicare, and large commercial sectors, including self-funded employers.

One of the key drivers of this rise is the growing number of chronic conditions, which affect a large portion of the adult population. Around 40% of adults in the US have four or more chronic diseases, contributing to the increase in polypharmacy. Furthermore, among the working adult population between 40 and 79 years old, 24% are impacted by polypharmacy, a trend that continues to grow. This issue highlights the complexity and challenges of managing multiple health conditions and medications in an aging population, leading to potential risks related to drug interactions and overall healthcare management.

Dorsett also explains why he believes this concept is such an overlooked driver of unnecessary spending and adverse health outcomes, strategies that should be taken to overcome health information exchange blockages, and much more.

How can RazorMetrics’ solution help deliver better patient outcomes and substantial savings for healthcare plans, employers, and members alike?

 The reality is, when you go to your physician, or just someone who would prescribe—a general nurse practitioner, what have you—they have very little visibility to what medications are costing you and your health plan, because they typically don't have access to the formulary. Even with the advent of what are known as real-time benefit tools, they're supposed to be used at the point of care to give you access to that information. The data flowing into those is very unreliable, because the PBMs that drive the information and the formularies don't really like playing in the same sandbox together. Half the time, you may make a call to one of those real-time benefit tool systems and it just comes up blank. There's no data, so you're going to stop using it pretty quickly, because you're having to go through all these extra clicks. So even though those are out there, the adoption has been fairly low and disappointing, even though they were also mandated in the 21

We, on the other hand, have a retrospective model that is going through claims data for prescriptions that have already been prescribed, and what we do is we put the information at physician’s fingertips basically in existing workflows, so they're not having to go outside of those. If they're having to take more time or go outside of their traditional workflows, or they've got the muscle memory, it's a non- starter. It simply doesn't work. That's what we became very good at over the years.

We're essentially getting a change order into the EHR. That's an official change order that also gives them some options. Optionality is important. Physicians don't always love being told what to do culturally. Basically, it's going through the prescription refill request queue, and they have to address those anyway. They just simply sign off on it, select a medication or decline it. What we do see is a response rate on those change orders of 74%—so we're getting them back most of the time—and an acceptance rate of 33%, so it's very effective.

They don't always accept it. Maybe the patient tried the medication in the past and it didn't work or created some other sort of issues, so they decline it. That's the critical importance of having the prescriber driving this process, not the patient having to go and advocate for themselves. Along the way, this polypharmacy issue started coming up, and we looked at it and realized, we can have an impact there as well, because we're already communicating with the physicians. The problem is, they don't have access to all the medications. If we could fix that, we could go a long way towards fixing this problem. Because we have all the claims coming in for all the medications that they're being prescribed, we have a holistic view of that information, so we're taking that out to the prescribers, so they can review the list and see if the patient shouldn't be on any particular medication, or if there's duplication. We've had a tremendous response from it. It's super effective for our clients. We've saved 10s of millions of dollars across the board with it. Then what we do is follow up after we see that medications have been de-prescribed and just confirm basically. Then typically, the prescriber will reach out to the patient and consult with them on it as well.

In the final part of his video interview with Pharma Commerce Editor Nicholas Saraceno, Tom Dorsett, CEO, RazorMetrics, describes how the software company’s solution can help deliver better patient outcomes and substantial savings for healthcare plans, employers, and members alike.

Legal Implications of Tariffs on Pharma Supply and Prescription Drugs

PC: What are the legal implications of the latest tariffs—including the "reciprocal" variety—and what challenges do they present to the pharma supply chain?

Reciprocal tariffs could create significant disruptions in the supply chain and many commercial contracts. I don’t want to get overly technical, but many contracts include clauses that activate certain procedures or nullify agreements when events beyond a party’s control occur—such as embargoes or excessive tariffs. These clauses will become increasingly relevant as they may need to address the impact of excessive tariffs. Supply chain disruptions could arise at any moment, particularly with raw materials, which are frequently sourced from overseas.

Some people may have different opinions, but in my view, these tariffs will negatively affect the supply chain and, ultimately, our economy at every level. Prescription drug costs will likely rise significantly as a result.

Unfortunately, Congress has granted broad authority to the executive branch through legislation. Specific laws that come to mind include the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 and the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977. These laws delegate power to the president to adjust tariffs in response to specific circumstances, such as national security concerns or trade negotiations, without requiring new congressional approval. Because of this, the president holds significant control over tariffs, and unless Congress enacts new legislation to curtail this power, the courts have limited options to intervene.

At this point, I’m not entirely sure how the power dynamic will unfold. It used to be that Congress and the president shared these responsibilities, but now, we have to wait and see. Tariffs could be an experiment. That seemed to be the case during this administration’s previous term—some tariffs led to negative consequences, while others remained in place.

The future of NIH-funded research is facing significant uncertainty due to changes in funding policies under the new administration. A major issue is the reduction of indirect cost reimbursements, which cover administrative, regulatory, and overhead expenses, from 50% to 15%. This shift, currently halted by legal challenges, threatens research institutions’ financial stability. Additionally, a freeze on grant proposal reviews via the Federal Register has further complicated NIH’s funding process, requiring researchers to seek alternative funding sources, primarily from the private sector. However, this shift could create a highly competitive environment, potentially stalling critical research in areas like cancer and sickle cell disease.

Political challenges, including diversity-related restrictions, further complicate clinical trials. Researchers may now need to approach trial design with a more conservative lens, which could hinder studies focused on minority populations and vaccine development. If funding and regulatory barriers persist, the U.S. risks losing scientific talent to more research-friendly environments in the EU and Asia.

While some court rulings have temporarily allowed NIH to continue research funding, long-term solutions would require Congressional action. However, given the current partisan landscape, legislative intervention to secure NIH funding against political interference appears unlikely. If the administration defies court rulings, it could create a constitutional crisis, undermining the checks and balances of the federal government.

Beyond NIH, new reciprocal tariffs could disrupt the pharmaceutical supply chain, particularly for raw materials sourced internationally. Many commercial contracts include clauses that could be triggered, nullifying agreements and exacerbating supply shortages. Given the executive branch’s broad authority over trade policy, tariff changes could increase prescription drug costs and create economic instability. With Congress unlikely to reclaim tariff-setting power soon, the full impact remains uncertain, necessitating a “wait and see” approach.

 to watch the entire interview on Pharmaceutical Executive, our sister publication.

Ron Lanton, Partner, Lanton Law, examines the legal and economic impacts of reciprocal tariffs on the pharma supply chain, including potential disruptions and increased drug costs. 

Understanding the Legal Implications of Tariffs on the Pharma Supply Chain and Prescription Drug Pricing

How a Completely Open Generic Market Could Alter Rx Costs

, Geoffrey Joyce, PhD, director of health policy at the Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics at the University of Southern California (USC, describes how the 10% tax on Chinese goods and a potential 25% tariff on pharmaceuticals could have notable effects on the price, quality, and safety of generic drugs. He explains that while branded and generic drug markets operate differently, the cost of generics is typically much lower, with intense competition driving prices down. A 10% tariff on generics might not significantly impact costs because most of the price is tied to distribution, not manufacturing. However, the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the risks of relying on countries like China and India for essential generics, which has led to a push to bring production back to the U.S.

A 25% tariff would likely make domestic production more attractive, but generics are low-margin products, so this may result in higher consumer prices. Joyce suggests that tariffs could disrupt supply chains but not lead to significant changes in US production in the short term. Additionally, the low-profit nature of the business could encourage foreign manufacturers to cut corners, potentially reducing drug quality. California's failed attempt to create its own generic drug industry illustrates the challenges in stimulating domestic production for these low-margin drugs.

While tariffs might encourage some domestic production, it could come at the cost of higher prices and possibly lower drug quality. The overall impact on the drug supply chain remains uncertain, with concerns about reliability and safety, especially if foreign manufacturers face increased production costs.

Joyce also describes what makes the generic drug market susceptible to supply chain disruptions; how the tariffs can affect price or competition within the branded drug space; health policy developments that coming down the pike that the pharma supply chain should prepare for; and much more.

What are the benefits of a completely open generic market powered by cash?

When we look at the generic drug market, we've done studies comparing what insured populations pay for generic drugs, and although the prices, the markups in dollar terms tend to be small (in percentage terms), the middlemen—the pharmacy benefit managers, etc.—make a lot of money off generics to a point where I'm not even sure they should be insured.

I think you could take them out of the insurance market. We did a study where generally, Costco beat Medicare Part D. Why? Because Costco, basically gets drugs from a wholesaler and tries to have a minimal markup, and try, in essence, to deliver value to their consumers. Once you go through these webs of insurance chains, insurance companies, PBMs, and these black, opaque boxes of everyone skimming at the top, generics are more expensive than they should be. I think if you had a completely open generic market, and people had to pay cash for it, I think actually that would improve the market.

In the final part of his video interview with Pharma Commerce Editor Nicholas Saraceno, Geoffrey Joyce, PhD, director of health policy at the Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics at USC, describes how PBMs financially benefit from generics, and why a completely open generic market powered by cash would be beneficial. 

The Connection Between Pharma Innovation and Health Policy Development

Are there any health policy developments coming down the pike that the pharma supply chain should prepare for or be aware of?

Well, when you talk to pharm execs, their big concerns are the IRA and tamping down prices on branded products. The reductions have not been that great so far, but I think it's a Pandora's box, where now you're opening up price negotiations for branded drugs. Then, the other issue that they're all worried about is 340B and changing that system, which has been a problem. That's what at least from the pharm execs I've talked to in the last couple of months, those are their two primary concerns. They’re for-profit companies, so they have to think about, where am I going to make my investments? Am I going to get a return on investment?

We worry about if we focus too much on launch prices and the price of drugs in early stage, it's going to have a detrimental effect on innovation. We don't worry about that in the generic space. Those are homogenous products, and we don't have to worry about a downside. Anything that sort of facilitates that market and makes it more competitive, the better. I would argue—and I have argued in the past— you could set price floors on a lot of generic products and maybe induce domestic production.

Yes, it would be more expensive than getting those drugs from India and China, but I think people might be willing to pay an extra $2, $4, or $5 for what they perceive as a safer, higher quality generic product, given prices on generics generally speaking, are low. But again, basically pharma outsourced all this stuff because labor and materials were cheap overseas. It made total sense. And I think COVID and other shortages have made us realize that there's a risk and a downside to that.

In the fourth part of his video interview with Pharma Commerce Editor Nicholas Saraceno, Geoffrey Joyce, PhD, director of health policy at the Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics at USC, comments on health policy developments that the pharma supply chain should be aware of.

Will Tariffs Affect Branded Drug Prices?

Do you anticipate the tariffs affecting price or competition within the branded drug space?

Why are brand drugs so expensive on patent drugs? Well, it's typically pharma companies— whether people are fond of them or not—they've made big investments, maybe a billion or a couple billion dollars before that drug makes it to market. When they hit home runs and they develop a good drug, they charge us whatever the market's willing to pay. What it means is the cost of producing the drug—the marginal cost—is quite low, even for branded drugs.

Why are prices high? Because it's a successful drug with little competition, let's say, in that therapeutic class. And all your costs are fixed. There are research and development costs. In addition, the ones that make it to market and are successful have to pay for all the losers that don't make it to the market. Like generics, the cost of producing an additional pill tend to be quite small. If the tariff is on the active ingredients and the import from overseas, it may not be that consequential to the end price, but yet it can throw disruptions on who's producing and the incentives of producers. I think during COVID, we realized we should have some drugs that we produce domestically, because we're vulnerable if we don't.

In the third part of his video interview with Pharma Commerce Editor Nicholas Saraceno, Geoffrey Joyce, PhD, director of health policy at the Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics at USC, describes how the tariffs can affect price or competition within the branded drug space.

How Supply Chain Issues Lead to Drug Price Surges and Quality Concerns 

What factors makes the generic drug market susceptible to supply chain disruptions?

You may have four different labelers or manufacturers of these generic products, but they were all getting it sourced from the same supplier in China or India, and you realize, so if the FDA hypothetically shuts down a factory because of quality concerns in India or China, that can have enormous implications for the supply of that drug in the United States, because these four or five different companies selling it in the US are all getting their basic ingredients from the same supplier. It's a serious concern. I think the FDA has been a little reluctant to be too strict in policing these foreign production sites because of that dependency on one or two manufacturers. 

I think there's real concern—margins are low. We've seen this in the past where, hypothetically, there are two or three manufacturers of a particular anti-hypertensive or anti-psychotic, and the margins get low, and one of them drops out of the market. Then the other guys realize, hey, we're the only game in town, or there's only two of us in town, we can raise prices.

We have seen—even though the generic market in the US is very competitive and prices are very low—we've seen plenty of cases in the last five years where we see 100, 200, 300% increases in the drug overnight, and their prices, because one supplier has dropped out of the market, leaving a monopoly for the remaining supplier. It's a delicate market with low margins. If you tinker with that marketplace, you could have exits. Firms can say, I’m not going to produce that drug. I can make more money in another generic product. Or again, they may cut corners to try and keep costs as low as possible. And cutting corners can be consequential.

In the second part of his video interview with Pharma Commerce Editor Nicholas Saraceno, Geoffrey Joyce, PhD, director of health policy at the Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics at USC, details the factors that could makes the generic drug market susceptible to supply chain disruptions.

Impact of Tariffs on the Generic Drug Market

How will the 10% tax on goods from China—along with the potential 25% tariff on pharmaceuticals—impact the price, quality, and safety of generic drugs? Would the aforementioned tariff encourage domestic production?

We're speculating, but people don't realize there's two very different markets for branded drugs versus generics, different players, as you're aware. We have some of the highest branded drug prices in the world and some of the lowest generics. Generic competition in most cases—there are exceptions—is fierce. If you’ve been on the Mark Cuban website, Cost Plus Drugs, you look at the ingredient costs, it's a penny to five cents a pill for a lot of very common generics. Someone mentioned a 10% tariff on that where most of the cost of the drug is getting it from the manufacturer to the patients for generic drugs. I didn't think 10% would move the needle, even though, during COVID, we did see shortages of essential drugs. There was more of a realization in the US that we have to repatriate drug production for essential medications, because we could be vulnerable if we rely on India and China, etc., for supplying generic but essential medications.

The question is, would a 25% tariff encourage domestic production? It clearly tips the balance more so in the favor of domestic production, but these are really low margin products, so I think really the losers would be consumers in this case. Supply of drugs I think could be disrupted. I don't think we would see in the short term. We wouldn't see significant changes in production in the US. You do worry about if it's really a low margin business, and you've added tariffs that these foreign manufacturers are going to cut corners, and, like you mentioned, quality declines, and we've seen that. We have evidence of foreign manufacturers cutting corners and having less than high quality standards.

I think that's been the argument for repatriating, and California has tried to do that unsuccessfully. They said they're going to have their own generic industry. They basically get approval for two drugs, and really have not had great production of those to start with. So again, it's a low-margin business, making that attractive to the US. To US manufacturers: prices are going to be higher for sure. You worry that even if that's not enough to stimulate domestic production, it's going to have repercussions for the supply, the reliability of supply, and potentially the quality of drugs made overseas.

In the first part of his video interview with Pharma Commerce Editor Nicholas Saraceno, Geoffrey Joyce, PhD, director of health policy at the Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics at USC, outlines how the tax on goods coming from China and potential 25% tariff on pharmaceuticals could influence generic drug prices. 

The Role of Electronic Labeling in Sustainable Practices

In the final part of her video interview with Pharma Commerce Editor Nicholas Saraceno, Laura Johnson, senior director of sales, life sciences, Loftware, comments on other concepts that are powering the company’s 2025 Supply Chain Trends Report, and how they could possibly change in 2026.

Supply Chain

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