The importance of the supply chain

The supply chain is one of the greatest challenges in pharma manufacturing. Laurel Junk, VP of Supply Chain and Contract Manufacturing, explains what she’s implemented at Amgen to make the whole process that much better.

When Junk first arrived at Amgen much of the focus around the supply chain was on putting some of the basic fundamentals in place. Amgen has grown tremendously in the past five years and so it was vital to concentrate on strengthening the organization to cope with the growth. “It was mainly transaction orientated so we thought about how best to strengthen our capacity management group and think more strategically about our network – how do we ensure we’re engaged cross-functionally with sales, marketing and R&D departments to make sure that we’re setting up the best supply chains,” explains Junk.

To support the organization and bring in a stronger skill set, Junk has implemented some fundamentals like stronger, more disciplined inventory management. “We’re even embarking on ERP for the first time in a major way and will be implementing SAP on a global basis, which from a supply chain perspective, is a wonderful thing,” comments Junk.

The supply chain is an important step in the production process, it is essentially a competitive lever connecting product packaging in a much more meaningful way with the patient. For Junk, patient safety is a top priority and the supply chain plays a key role in terms of setting up the necessary mechanisms and links from a data perspective. Junk is working on ways to track products from manufacture to patient use and ensuring that patients can authenticate the product they are using is the correct product, using both covert and overt mechanisms. “We need to leverage the primary objective in order to manage a better supply chain,” remarks Junk, “ we need a more lean, real-time supply chain that allows us to become more efficient in our operations.”

Challenges
For Junk, the major challenge in supply chains is capacity management for the pipeline, as well as the current products. The pipeline is particularly tricky as there is uncertainty to what will come to fruition and when, especially as adding capacity can take upwards of five years. It’s particularly important to get the timing right as if you hit the market without enough capacity the chances are that you will not be able to serve patients, however if you put a manufacturing facility on the ground to meet demand and the product doesn’t pan out the financial burden of trying to manage that can be pretty significant also.

The other main challenge for Junk is around international expansion. Previously a primarily US/Europe-based company Amgen are now moving into Latin America and Asia pacific, in order to open up distribution channels into those countries and expand access to Amgen products to a more worldwide market. These moves represent some significant issues for the company, specifically concerns around counterfeiting: “How do we ensure a safe and efficient product supply as we move into some of these markets that we’re not quite as familiar with, and have a little bit of a higher risk profile,” questions Junk. “However, we’re doing everything we can to ensure patient safety and managing that to the best of our ability.”

Counterfeits
Counterfeits medicines are a global problem affecting an estimated 10 percent of the worldwide medicine market. So what are Amgen doing to protect themselves? “The biggest way we can combat counterfeits is making sure that we have a robust as possible brand protection program,” says Junk. Amgen have dedicated resources to look up and down the supply chain and help develop strategies around how to make sure the medicines are safe from counterfeiting and tampering.

For Junk dealing with counterfeits is about being very diligent in both the technologies employed on the products and product packaging. Junk has been looking at everything to do with product packaging, labeling, anti-tamper devices in order to protect products from being replicated or tampered with. The only way to stay ahead of the counterfeiters is by constantly changing and modifying approaches since counterfeiters continue to find ways to cope and keep up. “A great example is how we deal with our money supply,” says Junk. “Our bills are constantly changing, and the government are always looking for ways to keep them from being copied, like inks and holograms. We are also looking at those things at Amgen, and employing them in a constantly changing strategy.”

In addition to some covert and overt technologies, Amgen have also employed surveillance measures, enabling them to track data both through the company itself and through trade groups in terms of what activities or situations surrounding counterfeiting have been encountered around the world. “We are trying to stay as current and as up to date as possible in terms of what counterfeiters are doing, so that we can play that back into strategies of how to stay ahead,” explains Junk.

Shortened supply chains have been one suggestion to help combat the fight against counterfeit medicines. As a supply chain professional, Junk is very much in support of short supply chains for a number of reasons. Firstly, the shorter it is the more efficient it is and therefore the quicker it is. From a counterfeit perspective it also has benefits, for example, it allows fewer opportunities again for counterfeits to be introduced into the supply chain. “We also know exactly where the product is, if the product travels through a lot of hands it makes it much more difficult to keep track of where the product is and again allow the opportunity,” remarks Junk. “Ultimately it ensures the products reach our patients in an authentic way.”

Looking ahead
Junk hopes that Amgen can continue to play the strong role that they have in terms of both the aspiration to be the best therapeutics company as well as continuing the record of helping every patient, every time. “To me, the future is all about how we continue to play whatever role we can to make sure that new products are coming to market and that the products we have are continually supplied in a safe and efficient way to our patients,” says Junk. “My hope is that we, supply chain and operations, become even more of a strategic and competitive lever for the company in our quest to fulfill our mission of serving patients and achieving our aspiration of becoming the best human therapeutics company in the world.”

About the company
Amgen discovers, develops and delivers innovative human therapeutics. A biotechnology pioneer since 1980, Amgen was one of the first companies to realize the new science’s promise by bringing novel medicines from lab, to manufacturing plant to patient. Amgen therapeutics have changed the practice of medicine, helping millions of people in the fight against cancer, kidney disease, rheumatoid arthritis and other serious illnesses. With a deep and broad pipeline of potential new medicines, Amgen remains committed to advancing science to dramatically improve people’s lives.