THE BIOPHARMACEUTICAL SUPPLY CHAIN

Nailing the fundamentals

WHAT ARE BIOLOGIC MEDICINES?

There are two main types of medicines produced in the pharmaceutical industry:

• Small molecule - that means they are made using industrial chemistry. Aspirin is an example. The pharmaceutical industry was mainly founded on small molecule products.

• Biologics (large molecule) - essentially made from living things, such as animal and human cells. A monoclonal antibody is an example. There has been rapid growth of biologics in recent years.

The SARS-CoV-2 injection is classed as a biologic.

WHAT ARE THE SUPPLY CHAIN CHALLENGES?

It is an order of magnitude more difficult building and managing a biologics supply chain, than for a small molecule product.

Firstly, biologics are very sensitive to changes in temperature, as you might imagine, as they are living things.

As early as 1919, this unique challenge was identified by Parke, Davies & Co (latterly to become Pfizer):

“Biological products are essentially perishable because they consist of organic matter and are theref…