< PreviousTRACEABILITY20Pharma Business International www.pbiforum.neta reliable means to track licensedtechnologies. Blockchain isn’t just the preserve of bigpharma, or any multinational for thatmatter, and in order to work to its fullest,needs to be deployed across an entireindustry. To that end, CaywonPharmaceuticals Group is workingtowards ensuring that pharma companiesof every size can employ blockchain toimprove the way drugs and treatmentsand both distributed and verified. The global counterfeit drugs industry isbelieved to be a $20 billion industry, onewhich claims the lives of desperatepatients year on year. Unable to affordhealthcare costs, many patients findthemselves turning instead tounregulated channels via the internet inorder to secure medication. Fakemedicines may appear indistinguishablefrom their counterparts, but can containany mixture of ingredients and in anyamount leading to overdoses. Consumersmay thinking they are buying the genuinearticle, even through illicit means, buthave no way of knowing. Many of thesafeguards already in place are beingreplicated by criminals, and options suchas holographs simply aren’t robustenough. Blockchain could be a silverbullet in order to ensure that only verifieddrugs and medical products are availableand that consumers and retailers stayeducated. The other major effect that blockchaincan have on the pharmaceutical market islogistically. Smart Containers Group, theSwiss logistics company and maker oftemperature-controlled containers for thefood and pharma industries, will nowaccept cryptocurrency payments for itsservices through its SkyCell division.This, the company said, will speed uptransaction times for clients and marks adecisive step towards assimilatingblockchain technologies into the logisticsindustry. 18-21_Layout 1 13/02/2018 09:10 Page 3Pharma Business International 21www.pbiforum.netTRACEABILITYSmart Containers Group’s decision toaccept cryptocurrencies as payment isgeared towards expediting processingtimes and minimising costs for clients,making more traditional paymentmethods, which rely on third-parties andare often unavoidably tedious andexpensive as a result, obsolete. The instantaneous nature oftransactions conducted usingcryptocurrency will also serve to minimisethe effects of fluctuating currencyexchange rates – which can heavilyimpact payments made in a number ofglobal currencies as a result of elongatedprocessing times.“From our experience within thelogistics, pharmaceutical, and foodindustries – we have first-handexperience of the difficulties whichpayments processes can pose toclients,” says Richard Ettl, CEO and Co-Founder of Smart Containers Group.“Often, banking fees can make up asmuch as 5% of invoice value, withtraditional transfers taking up to 90 days,meaning payments alone are very costlyboth financially and in terms of efficiency.By introducing the possibility ofconducting transactions throughcryptocurrency, Smart Containers Groupwill reduce payment processes to amatter of minutes, while cutting out thirdparty handling fees entirely.”The benefits of blockchain are myriad,from shrinking costs for companies,expediting and strengthening validationprocesses and creating a securer, morereliable supply chain. And the traceabilitygains are nothing short of profound. Thetechnology is still in largely in its infancy,with more exploration and trials neededbefore any kind of widespread adoptiontakes place in the pharmaceutical sector.More than anything, blockchain may justwell be our last best hope for totaltraceability, ensuring the long-term safetyof patients. © Shutterstock / pogonici18-21_Layout 1 13/02/2018 09:10 Page 4PACKAGING22Pharma Business International www.pbiforum.netPackaging plays a profound role inimpeding counterfeit pharmaceuticalproducts, the presence of which canspell economic damage to manufacturersand pose health risks for patients andconsumers. Track and trace technology hasemerged as one of the biggest advancesin the battle against counterfeit productsand as a means of strengthening thesupply chain. A track and trace systemworks by printing a unique identificationcode onto each product after it has beenpackaged, which then allows anindividual product to be tracked fromproduction to end consumer. This process shares more than apassing resemblance to blockchain(which we explore in our traceabilityfeature – page 18), however blockchain isstill very much in its infancy and is farfrom commonplace. Track and trace, onthe other hand, is already offeringmanufacturers a robust and reliablemeans of following their productsthrough the supply chain and ensuringtheir validity at all times. Together, the two technologies couldwell create one of the securest supplychains, which the pharmaceuticalindustry is in need of. Currently,counterfeits are rife, putting drug makersout of pocket and exposing patients tountested and unregulated products. Oneof the biggest advantages of track andtrace technology is that it can be easilyintegrated offering a means forcompanies of all sizes to sure up theirsupply chain. For this reason, it’s entirelyunderstandable why a system of thiskind is gaining an increasingly largepresence in the marketplace, with growthonly tipped to increase in the future. Infact, it will be worth $3.93 billion by2023. Packaging has a key role to place in battling counterfeit medicines, with manufacturersincreasingly relying on track and trace systems. Track and24 Á22-25_Layout 1 13/02/2018 09:10 Page 1Pharma Business International 23www.pbiforum.netPACKAGING© Shutterstock / felipe caparrostrace Currently, counterfeits are rife, putting drugmakers out of pocket and patients at risk. One ofthe biggest advantages of track and tracetechnology is that it can be easily integrated into aproduct supply chain, offering a means forcompanies of all sizes to sure up their supply chain22-25_Layout 1 13/02/2018 09:10 Page 2PACKAGING24Pharma Business International www.pbiforum.netThe biggest driver behind thisgrowth, other than the obviousoutlined on the previous pages, isthat there is an increasing awarenessfor secure and reliable products fromconsumers and patients. A similarstate of affairs is being seen in thefood industry, where consumers arebetter informed than they have everbeen. Thanks in part to the internet –especially social media – consumersare actively engaging with the supplychain and taking a deeper, keenerinterest in the products and servicesthey use and purchase. Elsewhere, technological evolutionand the more widespreaddeployment of packaging equipmentand machinery is enabling smallercompanies to integrate track andtrace systems into their supply chain.Then, of course, there aregovernment regulations to consider.Unsurprisingly, governments theworld over are keen to end thescourge of counterfeit goods,especially when it comes to food andmedicines. Legislation and newregulations will increasingly prioritisetrack and trace systems, if notmaking them a legal requirementgoing forward. There are some hindrances tofuture growth, however, withhesitation among manufacturersregarding the security features oftrack and trace packaging chiefamong them. There’s also a reticenceover the high cost involved inimplementing a new system, withmany companies struggling to justifythe expenditure for an issue that maynot have affected them directly. Counterfeit drugs and othermedical products continue to plaguethe pharmaceutical sector and putpatients at risk. The financial damagecan also be significant, and so areliable solution needs to beimplemented in order to eradicatethis illegal trade. Track and trace hasfrequently proven its ability tostrengthen the supply chain, proveeffective for manufacturers and keeppatients safe from unregulated andpotentially harmful products. It provesthat packaging will remain criticalgoing forward, as track and tracesystems become morecommonplace. © Shutterstock / Olga Miltsova22-25_Layout 1 13/02/2018 09:10 Page 3Pharma Business International 25www.pbiforum.netPACKAGING© Shutterstock / Dmitry Kalinovsky22-25_Layout 1 13/02/2018 09:10 Page 4HUMAN RESOURCES26Pharma Business International www.pbiforum.net© Shutterstock / Panchenko Vladimir26-29_Layout 1 13/02/2018 09:11 Page 1Pharma Business International 27www.pbiforum.netHUMAN RESOURCESWHO have said that policymakers are oftenblindsided by their struggle with a lack ofhuman resources at the expense of overlookingthe particular importance of an adequateworkforce. Indeed, it said: “The development,production, distribution and appropriateutilization of medicines, as well as thesupportive functions of regulation, operationalresearch, and training, all require theinvolvement of competent pharmaceuticalprofessionals. The successful execution ofthese activities is essential to a strong healthsystem and, therefore, population health.”This widening skills gap is something beingwitnessed across all manufacturing industries,as young graduates are wooed by digitalcareers, or, more commonly, prioritise auniversity degree over an apprenticeship. Butwho can blame them? Employers areincreasingly looking for graduates to fill roles,rather than pursing apprenticeships,internships or other methods. Although this isthe state of things on the production line, thesituation further up the employment ladder isjust as grim.The Brexit vote threw a spanner into Britain’s28 ÁAccording to the World Health Organisation(WHO), healthcare sectors around the globeare struggling to attract staff. As this criticalshortage in human resources continues, thepharmaceutical sector is poised on a cliff edge.Despite the continual automation witnessedacross the sector, a lack of human workforcecould have disastrous consequences. Pharma’s talentpipeline problem26-29_Layout 1 13/02/2018 09:11 Page 2HUMAN RESOURCES28Pharma Business International www.pbiforum.netpharmaceutical sector, with the EuropeanMedicines Agency abandoning its currentLondon base in favour of Amsterdam. Aswell as potentially harming its leadingposition in the life sciences sector, Britainalso risks losing out on top talent. Sincethe fateful vote to leave the EU,pharmaceutical companies in the UKhave struggled to attract top talent fromoverseas. Often, there simply aren’tenough graduates or highly skilledworkers on British soil to fill these roles,leading recruiters to look abroad. So theskills shortage widens. Despite second referendum rhetoricfrom some camps, Brexit is becomingreality. With that in mind, it’s becomemore about securing the best deal forBritain than trying to reverse the result.However, UK Secretary Jeremy Huntrecently told MPs that failure to reach aBrexit deal for the medical sector wouldbe “uniquely damaging” not only to theUK but to the EU as well. “It’s not just us that want to continueto get cancer drugs that aremanufactured in Europe,” he said. “It’sEuropeans who will not want anyinterruption to their supply chain fordrugs that are manufactured in thiscountry.”One of the ways in which pharmacompanies are coping is by totallyrevaluating their recruitment strategiesand looking beyond the immediate jobpool. Big pharma companies are turningtheir eyes towards tech companies likeGoogle and utilising social mediaplatforms such as LinkedIn in order tosecure workings. Given that, as a whole,the pharmaceutical sector has been slowto adapt when it comes to social media,this is a minor revolution anddemonstrates the seismic shift takingplace right in front of our eyes. It alsoembodies age old advice: if the workerswon’t come to you, then you should goto where the workers are.The crossover between digitaltechnology and the pharmaceuticalindustry also offers insight into the futureof both industries. There have long beenrumblings about the fusing together oftech and healthcare, with medical apps© Shutterstock / Photographee.eu26-29_Layout 1 13/02/2018 09:11 Page 3Pharma Business International 29www.pbiforum.netHUMAN RESOURCESand wearables having been part of themainstream for years. That pharmacompanies are actively recruiting techtalent speaks volumes about where thefuture is heading. Human resources may very well belacking in the global pharmaceuticalsector, with Brexit hamstringingrecruitment plans in Britain, but recruitersshouldn’t count themselves out yet. Butlooking further afield and exploringadjacent talent pools, companies couldplug holes in their workforce before theygrow larger. Companies looking to securetop graduates need to look beyond theirtypical talent pools and cast a wider net,especially for the digital technologysector.© Shutterstock / giggsy2526-29_Layout 1 13/02/2018 09:11 Page 4Next >