Strengthening the Chain

It is hard to believe that Pharma Commerce’s October issue marks the second to last one of 2024. To help keep the momentum going through the end of the year, it’s only fitting that this edition is headlined by a cold chain topic, one of the publication’s “bread and butters.”

We wanted to focus on exploring the technological advances in this space, and although that can be a tall task, SpotSee’s Billy Sanez articulates the concept well in a feature on keeping often-critical "do-not-freeze" injectable drugs safe through to the "last mile" of their delivery. “Cold chain logistics managers must use the right solutions for the product being shipped at every stage of the supply chain,” he notes. “Single-use indicators are most valuable during the last mile, as they are more easily read by distribution staff and end users. Conversely, devices with minute-by-minute connected alerts and robust analytics capabilities are preferable for continuously monitoring the entire supply chain. In addition, everyone involved in last-mile distribution should understand their respective job and its far-reaching consequences.”

Contributing Editor Suzanne Shelley touches on temperature management as well in her dive into the trends and strategies shaping the practices of specialty pharmacies and their partners. She also explores the complex commercialization and access aspects associated with specialty therapies, noting there are three primary objectives that efforts focus in on: ensuring swift drug access for patients, minimizing out-of-pocket (OOP) expenses, and promoting sustained adherence to therapy. The goal for today’s specialty pharmacies is to anticipate and then address all the needs that individual healthcare providers and patients may have.

In the sixth and final part of his “Who Moved My Prescription?” series, Bill Roth of IntegriChain details a major complaint issued by manufacturers—the fact that branded prescriptions are increasingly being turned away by retail pharmacies of all kinds, an extension of the issues faced by specialty-lite products nearly a decade ago. Meanwhile, in her latest healthcare reform column, Amy Niles of the PAN Foundation examines a pair of provisions from the Inflation Reduction Act that will go into effect on Jan. 1 of next year, including a $2,000 cap on OOP drug spending for all individuals with a Medicare Part D plan. The concern lies in the unintended consequences these could have on patients, she points out, particularly the threat of rising Part D premiums.

All this and more highlight our October offerings. We hope you enjoy, and thanks for reading.

— Mike Hennessy Jr., President and CEO, MJH Life Sciences