During disasters or crisis, the traditional models of supply chain encounter failure and skewedness under the inevitable and unknown pressures.
The procurement and transformation of required equipment to the involved areas is considered as one of the main triggers of decreasing damages and losses during crisis.
In this regard, a breakdown in pharmaceutical supply chain can lead to intensive, undesired consequences.
COVID19 pandemic and wars have impacted global supply chains with effects that are still being witnessed today.
Each day comes news of choked ports, out-of-place shipping containers, record freight rates, and other problems that cause disruption and defy easy answer.
Air transportation routes, as well as shipping, have suffered from the effects of the pandemic, with global air traffic falling by more than 90% in April 2020.
With armed conflicts leading to airspace closures in early 2022, the effects of the pandemic and other disruptive global events seem set to continue for the foreseeable future.
Like other sectors, the pharmaceutical industry (hereafter, pharma) has had to absorb the impact of recent events on its supply chain operations.
Throughout the pandemic, pharma has stood on the front line of the public health battle to develop and deliver vaccines and antivirals against COVID-19, working closely with governments and regulators.
As the China, India and Europe are main suppliers of pharmaceutical raw materials, the global pharma supply becomes vulnerable during any pandemic due to disruption of production and shipment around the world.
Now, more than two years after COVID19’s emergence, it is time to evaluate how pharma has coped with this stress test and what learnings for the future can be taken from its performance.
To overcome that situations risk assessments are an important element in managing and robustness of supply chain and it should be periodically review in compliance with ICH Q9.
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