iSpeak Blog

Pharma Supply Chain Management - Development to Delivery & Everything In-Between

Niranjan S. Kulkarni, PhD
Article
2016 ISPE Annual Meeting & Expo

The 2016 ISPE Annual Meeting & Expo in Atlanta is right around the corner!  As the Track Director for the End-to-End Supply Chain Management track, I would like to personally invite all pharmaceutical industry professionals, students, and interested members to our educational sessions.  Participants will gain tangible insights and genuine experiences from industry leaders, Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), and Special Guests invited from two of ISPE’s veteran Communities of Practice (CoP) – Investigational Products (IP) and Operations Management (OM). Staying true to the End-to-End Supply Chain Management track theme, our session leaders and presenters have developed a truly unique program this year, from clinical trials to commercialization to enhancing supply chain management and user experience.  Sessions have been designed to discuss:

  • Technological advancements, e.g. use of 3D printing in drug development, challenges and strategies for serializing your supply chains, cold chain management, and more
  • Supply chain best practices for managing logistics, quality issues, data integrity, handling returns, and reconciliations
  • How leading edge companies are embracing social networking and using it to expand the reach of clinical trials to patients in need

One of our sessions will also feature TransCelerate Network, an industry collaboration.  This session will discuss how the network has approached Comparator Sourcing. The OM CoP’s presentation, of the 2016 industry survey, will discuss maturity of our industry in using tools, techniques, and methods to improve supply chain performance.  The presentation will discuss particular weaknesses in flexibility and innovation in the supply chain in our member’s companies.  The presentation will illustrate opportunities for improvement, which can be facilitated by adopting principles and practices in the new ISPE Good Practice Guide:  Operations Management. Sessions designed by the IP CoP including:

  • Best Practices in Clinical Trial Material Supply Chain, which will allow the participants to work in groups to identify ways to ensure supply chain metrics gathered are measured similarly between organizations to facilitate and support future data gathering for industry benchmarking
  • A customer focused Drug Development session, which will provide participants a unique opportunity to hear directly from patients and companies on their perspectives
  • Nicole Pierson returns to ISPE again this year and will hold a Q&A session following her keynote address

Members of the IP CoP are also invited to tour the Emory University Investigational Drug Service (IDS).  The tour will start with a Q&A session with the IDS Director.  Attendees will have an exclusive opportunity to gain insights into challenges faced by IDS pharmacists, and see firsthand how their investigational products are handled in a dynamic clinical site.  Space is limited – register today! The End-to-End Supply Chain Management track is jam packed with one-of-a-kind educational sessions that will give YOU immediate takeaways to implement at your company including:

  • Understanding how your peers operate their supply chain
  • Learning from others’ lessons learned
  • Recognizing best practices, trends, and innovations
  • Comparing your supply chains with industry benchmarks

Join us at the 2016 ISPE Annual Meeting and Expo!

Register Now - 2016 ISPE Annual Meeting & Expo