Expiring patent rights for many leading drugs will increase sales for generic manufacturers.
Geographic shifts in production are making locations in Asia, Latin America, Middle East and China more attractive to pharmaceutical companies, yet these markets present supply chain challenges.
Those are just a couple of takeaways from “Bio-Pharmaceutical Logistics Global Market Report 2016,” a 47-page report issued in May by ResearchAndMarkets.
According to a summary of the report, the global bio-pharmaceutical logistics market was valued at US$61.1 billion in 2014, with the forecast of reaching US$91 billion by 2020, advancing at a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 6.9% between 2015 and 2020.
Providing background, the report says: “Temperature control, regulatory compliance, security, safety and chain of custody are the key obstacles for pharmaceutical manufacturers. In every organization, logistics is the key integral part of the supply chain management, which deals with procurement, planning and implementation of all logistics activities. Effective logistics management helps pharmaceutical companies to have a constant supply of drugs, devices and equipment from various dealers and distributors in different locations.”
ResearchAndMarkets says U.S. and European distribution structure is leaning toward national warehouses both regionally and centrally. “Developing warehouse structures and outsourcing to logistics service providers is the a key focus in some pharmaceutical manufacturers. Low cost and greater visibility in the supply chain are the main advantages of outsourcing logistics services and is becoming an integral part of strategy,” notes the report.
Other key findings include the following:
• A primary driving factor for market growth include strict regulations such as Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and Good Distribution Practices (GDP), which summarize the criteria relating to the purchase, storage and export of medicines.
• Rising demand for temperature-sensitive pharmaceuticals and delivery methods could contribute to the growth of this market.
• Restricting factors include issues related to confidentiality of the proprietary information, loss of control and deteriorating services.
• Panalpina, DHL, FedEx and UPS are among the leading logistic service providers in the industry.
ResearchAndMarkets says, “A top-down approach was used to estimate the global bio-pharmaceutical logistics market by transport mode, and by product type. The values were cross-validated by using a bottom-up approach while estimating the market geographically.”
