Easy Listening

Something I’ve been keen to do since joining Pharmaceutical Commerce is to take advantage of the magazine’s increased publication rate (now six times a year) and move away from single-themed issues to an approach that offers a broader overview of the key areas. In this way, I hope Pharma Commerce can reach more regularly into all corners of the readership. This month’s issue is a good example of this approach, with lead features on economic development and the current wholesaler landscape, supported by articles and interviews on a variety of subjects, including visibility and sustainability in the cold chain; the practice of postponement in manufacturing; building effective patient support programs; and the future of the healthcare supply chain.

Complementing the span of topics covered by each magazine issue are Pharma Commerce’s editorial podcasts, which we’ve been rolling out for over a year now and which bring additional insights to our key areas of focus. Just in the last six months, 12 episodes of the podcast—each of which features a conversation with an industry opinion leader or vendor—have delved into a range of subjects, including product launch, pricing, manufacturing, pharmacovigilance, artificial intelligence, real-world evidence, and the impact of COVID-19 on mergers and acquisitions.

To single out a few episodes in particular, in the area of patient support, we spoke to Diana Villanova of COEUS Consulting Group in July about how drug producers can use patient and channel strategies to maximize payoff. In March, Sandra Anderson of Innomar Strategies talked about bringing products to market and the progress of the patient journey in Canada. And in February, Ardy Arianpour, CEO and co-founder of Seqster, detailed his personal quest to topple data-access barriers in digital health.

On the subject of supply chain, in May, David Sanders of Coherus BioSciences talked to us about his role with Securing America’s Medicines and Supply, a multi-industry coalition of companies aiming to strengthen the security of the medical supply chain in the US. In April, Dennis Wright of Omnicell discussed medication nonadherence and efficient ways to use pharmacists’ expertise to create an effective supply chain; also in April, Adham Yehia, co-founder and chief operating officer of DrugStoc, a cloud-based distribution platform connecting manufacturers to hospitals and pharmacies across Africa, outlined the logistical obstacles of distribution in that part of the world.

In the pricing realm, in July, Nelly Rose of NFP addressed the increase in prescription drug spending, along with ways to find more affordable options for driving down pharmacy spend; and in January, AJ Loiacono, CEO of Capital Rx, a pharmacy benefit manager and health tech firm, provided his formula for providing more transparency in pricing and the importance of simplifying complex administrative and workflow barriers between pharmacies, payers, and other entities.

All of these episodes and more are available to listen to at www.pharmaceuticalcommerce.com/editorial-podcasts. At just 12–20 minutes long, they take the sometimes complex issues that are close to the hearts of the Pharma Commerce audience and turn them into listening that is quick and easy, as well as stimulating and informative.

Julian Update is Pharmaceutical Commerce's Editorial Director. He can be reached at [email protected].