SLCPI commends unified effort to protect medical supply chains

The Sri Lanka Chamber of the Pharmaceutical Industry (SLCPI) lauded all those involved in the pharmaceutical supply chains for their proactive efforts in ensuring the uninterrupted supply of medicine throughout the country in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite challenges posed by the coronavirus to global manufacturing and distribution supply chains, the Chamber reaffirmed that patients across the island received a consistent delivery of quality medicine. This was achieved through measures adopted by its members to optimise supply chain efficiency.

Taking place in the backdrop of “National Quality Week” and World Standard’s Day which fell on October 14th, SLCPI noted that pharma-companies had been quick to respond with critical adjustments to business processes, and complemented by new technological capabilities which resulted in more agile, patient-centric supply chains, all of which was instrumental in providing uninterrupted services despite disruptions in logistics and a rising COVID-19 case count.

With air freight services coming to a near standstill earlier this year, many companies had to formulate contingency plans to their supply chain for uninterrupted supply of medicines to the market. This required establishing active communication and clear direction to all staff handling transportation, frontline and back-end operations.

“Given the massive disruptions to air freight operations with the closure of the international airport, we had to rapidly switch to sea freight for products with ambient (+15c to +25c) temperature control by using reefer containers for packing as well as prioritising and blocking airfreights for urgent cold chain temperature control products. This created other issues, as we had to ensure that medicine was stored and transported at an optimal temperature within a stipulated timeframe while complying with all standards and guidelines. This was a real challenge, but we were able to overcome them by leveraging local agents to ensure that all goods were properly handled based on the shipper’s instructions & cleared on time,” ‘ Baurs’ Director of Life Sciences, Gehan Seneviratne stated.

Commenting on supply chain challenges closer to home, Sunshine Pharmaceuticals CEO, Shantha Bandara noted that domestic sales teams also played a pivotal role in ensuring uninterrupted supply of essential medicines.