Essay Sample on Pharmaceutical Industry: Controversial and Lucrative

Introduction

The pharmaceutical industries are the industries that manufacture, research and develop and distribute prescription drugs and any other over the counter drugs whose primary purpose is to prevent diseases in human beings and animals. The main focus of pharmaceutical industries is the development of drug brand names which have patent protection. This industry is one of the most controversial industries worldwide due to the high costs of drugs. Regardless of the lucrative nature of this industry, the pharmaceutical industry is still an influential part of healthcare worldwide. However, some pharmaceutical industries produce generic drugs which require low research and development (Taylor, 2016). Health insurances prefer generic medicines because they are cheaper than the brand names or the original medicines. According to Taylor, (2016), this company focuses on the production of medical and biological products, isolation of active medicinal products from herbs and botanical drugs, processing for botanical medicines, and manufacturing of pharmaceutical drugs which are used in external and internal parts of the body. Additionally, insurance coverage is one of the driving forces that is attributed to the pharmaceutical industry. However, the industry is currently at a mature stage because it depends on medical technology advancement to develop new drugs and products for unmet needs.

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The pharmaceutical industry is a research-based industry whose main role is to create value through research, discovery and production of effective drugs and medicines, vaccines. The industry provides services which improves the well-being patients and the products manufactured sold at a profit. The pharmaceutical industry ensures that the types of drugs used to cure diseases are safe, affordable, and effective. This industry contributes considerably to the quality and life protection. Pharmaceutical industries are have evolved from the art form to scientific and biotechnologically based. In recent years, biotechnology has triggered a significant improvement in people's health globally. The biotechnological progress in pharmaceutical industries is due to the protection of the intellectual properties of different key players in research and drug development (Weissman, 2017, p270). The innovations in the pharmaceutical industry have led to an increase in life expectancy in developing countries. Moreover, pharmaceutical industries act with integrity, respect human rights, and comply with the pharmaceutical drugs production laws and regulations to prevent causing harm to the consumers of their products.

According to Bax, R. and Green, S., (2015, p1282), the pharmaceutical industry is a firm which discovers, develop, produce, distribute, and market pharmaceutical drugs or products. The pharmaceutical company plays a crucial role in the health care sector, which deals with drug production and medications. The main goal of the pharmaceutical company is to produce drugs which prevent diseases infections, healthcare maintenance, and cure diseases. This industry has a direct impact on the global population. International regulatory bodies monitor this industry to ensure that these companies adhere to drug safety, quality, patent, and drug pricing. This industry uses research-oriented approaches which have to improve pharmaceutical technology, development of infrastructures, and improved bioscience research. Advancement in biotechnology has enabled pharmaceutical industries to develop drugs which can cure several infections. There is an increasing need for pharmaceuticals because of the rising aging population, change in lifestyle, and increased income and terminal illnesses such as cancer. Besides, this industry contains independent subfields which encompass drug manufacturers and biotechnology companies. Changes in health care have resulted in rapid innovation, discovery, and improved drug development processes. To address the changes in health care, pharmaceutical companies have adopted new biotechnologies which will help them to meet the market demands.

Definitions of Pharmaceutical Supply Chain

The pharmaceutical supply chain is the incorporation of essential business processes across the supply chain to generate value for end-users and stakeholders. After drugs have been launched, the pharmaceutical industry set different objectives and drivers to enable then distribute the end product to the users. The pharmaceutical supply chain incorporates various government agencies, health care facilities, drug manufacturers, distributors, retailers, pharmacy chains, and research organizations (Ding, 2018, p117). Moreover, the pharmaceutical supply chain is held responsible for the distribution of prescription drugs, generic drugs, over-the-counter drugs, and biologics which have different operational objectives and handling needs. The pharmaceutical supply chain can restore the pharmaceutical industry to improve how the assets and resources are used. Due to many amalgamations and the regulatory nature of the pharmaceutical industry, many pharmaceutical supply chain networks have developed to optimize performance.

According Zhong et al., (2016, p580), the pharmaceutical supply chain involves drug research and development, manufacturing, and distribution of pharmaceutical products across various healthcare services and pharmaceutical businesses which improves the effective functioning at these stages. Pharmaceutical supply chain involves markets, intermediaries, processes, and products. Pharmaceutical industries take control of drug distribution to optimize the possibility of different distribution channels and to protect patients from defects which might occur during repackaging and relabeling of pharmaceutical products.

The pharmaceutical supply chain is the ways through which prescription drugs are delivered to the end-users. Pharmaceutical supply chain entails a sequential structure through which drugs are delivered from the pharmaceutical industry to the end-users, that is, the patients (Viegas et al., 2019). Pharmaceutical products are distributed from the pharmaceutical industries to wholesale suppliers. The wholesale supplier processes the drugs through quality and utilization management screens. After this process, the wholesale supplier distributes the pharmaceutical products to the doctors and pharmacies where right prescriptions are made, and the drugs are supplied to patients. Nevertheless, there are variations in the pharmaceutical supply chain due to the constant involvement of key players in research and pharmaceutical drug development processes.

Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Challenges

Temperature control. Most of the pharmaceutical are temperature-sensitive; therefore, these products are stored and distributed under varying temperatures as they move across the pharmaceutical supply chain. Pharmaceutical industries use the wood platform during distribution, but this platform does not work because woods are subject to degradation when temperature change. When pharmaceutical products are moved in and out of freezers and coolers, the moisture condenses, and it can encourage bacterial growth, therefore, contaminating the pharmaceutical pallets. Additionally, when these products are distributed from the manufacturers to the consumer, the temperature may vary, thus lowering the product quality and usability. Available temperature-controlling technologies have not been fully used; therefore, temperature control remains to be a pharmacological supply chain challenge.

Shortage avoidance. The greatest challenge facing the pharmaceutical supply chain is ensuring that the supply and distribution of pharmacological products meet the rising demand of doctors and patients. Chances of damage, theft, contamination, spoilage, and other supply challenges make shortage avoidance a persistent problem globally. Besides, complying with new pharmacological supply chain regulations complicates the process of pharmacological products production. Lack of pharmacological resiliency can also cause a severe shortage of pharmacological product. Besides, inconsistent best practices will also cause product shortage due to lack of inventory backups and improper repackaging and relabeling of these products before supply.

Pharmaceutical product damage. Pharmaceutical products require more attention than any other products because they are used to restore health. For instance, a damaged package is discarded, although its content is safe because there are no criteria to determine whether the material in the box is contaminated or not. The dangers associated with damaged pharmaceutical products due to damage or contamination is severe enough to a certain extent. Product damage occurs during packaging at the warehouse; therefore, warehouse employee should be keen on why repackaging and handling these products. Additionally, pharmaceuticals are exposed to damage when they are transported especially those packaged in wooden pallets.

Lack of coordination and compliance. Lack of coordination is a big challenge in the pharmaceutical industry globally. There are so many connections in the pharmaceutical supply chain which the most adaptable, successful, and resilience supply chain should be coordinated with. However, coordinating all the parties involved in the pharmaceutical supply chain is not an easy task. Besides, adhering to the new pharmaceutical supply chain regulation is a must, but some pharmaceutical companies do not adhere to these regulations leading to the supply of products which do not meet the international standards.

Human resource dependency. Manufacturing and distribution of pharmaceutical products still depend on human labor. Since pharmaceutical products are of high value and profitable, dependence on human labor creates chances for theft, and these products my end in wrong hands. Once these products have landed in wrong hands, they may end up being used for the unintended purpose causing harm to the users. Most pharmaceutical industries are facing this challenge, and they are trying to find out the best way to shift from human labor to automated storage and retrieve systems.

Conclusion

In conclusion, pharmaceutical industries is a global health care business which is involved in drug manufacturing, development, and research. These products are distributed from the industries to the end-users through the pharmaceutical supply chain. Although the pharmaceutical supply chain is the only way of supplying these products, there are a lot of challenges surrounding this process. These challenges include temperature control, human resource dependency, and product damage, among others.

References

Bax, R. and Green, S., 2015. Antibiotics: the changing regulatory and pharmaceutical industry paradigm. Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, 70(5), pp.1281-1284.

Ding, B., 2018. Pharma industry 4.0: Literature review and research opportunities in sustainable pharmaceutical supply chains. Process Safety and Environmental Protection, 119, pp.115-130.

Taylor, D., 2016. The Pharmaceutical Industry and the Future of Drug Development. Pharmaceuticals in the Environment: Volume 41, 41, p.1.

Viegas, C.V., Bond, A., Vaz, C.R. and Bertolo, R.J., 2019. Reverse flows within the pharmaceutical supply chain: A classificatory review from the perspective of end-of-use and end-of-life medicines. Journal of Cleaner Production, p.117719.

Weissman, R., 2017. A long, strange TRIPS: The pharmaceutical industry drive to harmonize global intellectual property rules, and the remaining WTO legal alternatives available to Third World countries. In Globalization and Intellectual Property (pp. 255-311). Routledge.