Mike Hennessy Jr.

Mike Hennessy Jr., President and CEO, MJH Life Sciences

 now puts us into Q3 of 2024, and a notable pivot by the magazine to exploring an area of the pharma business engine that often falls under the proverbial radar: inventory management.

Shifting the topic into the spotlight, we present a deep dive this month into Big Pharma inventory performance. 

Editor Nicholas Saraceno sits down with Matthew Bardell

, managing director of nVentic, a specialist inventory optimization company that for seven years now, has been gathering relevant data and compiling it all into an “Inventory Trends Benchmarking Report.” The analysis provides a glimpse into what is taking place with the inventory levels of some of the largest drug manufacturers. Bardell notes that pharma giants such as Pfizer are tapping cash influxes (from COVID-19 products, for example) to buy new companies—and when those acquisitions occur, the result is a significant impact on the "days inventory outstanding" value, a key measure of how efficiently and effectively a company is operating. In those cases, Bardell adds, inventories are normally marked up to reflect fair value until it's "run through the books over a period of time.”

In other coverage this month, Editor Emeritus Nicholas Basta details the 

, even amid various industry undercurrents, such as reimbursement policy and drug importation wranglings and increasing manufacturer direct-to-patient actions in prescription drug distribution and delivery. Leading the wholesaler charge, of course, continues to be the industry’s Big 3 of McKesson, Cencora, and Cardinal Health. A natural key to their success, Basta says, has been the companies' ability to also dabble in other aspects of the healthcare ecosystem, whether that be by having their own specialty pharmacy or tackling clinical trial services head-on.

fifth installment of his “Who Moved My Prescription?” series

, Bill Roth of IntegriChain explores a multitude of factors that are contributing to a wave of pharmacy store closings across the US, including economic pressures, changes in consumer behaviors, and more. And in her latest look at healthcare reform, Amy Niles of the PAN Foundation 

 that will take effect in 2025, one being the Part D cap—people enrolled in Part D plans (both traditional and Medicare Advantage) will not have to pay more than $2,000 in out-of-pocket costs for their prescription medications.

That's just a sampling of our content offerings this month. As always, thanks for reading.

— Mike Hennessy Jr., President and CEO, MJH Life Sciences

Articles

The August issue of Pharmaceutical Commerce explores an area of the pharma business engine that can often fall under the radar: inventory management and optimization. 

Taking Inventory 

 officially puts us halfway through the year, and I could not be any prouder of the important topics and business-essential subjects the publication has explored thus far. Transitioning from earlier coverage dives into such areas as third-party logistics providers to the state of affairs for pharmacy benefit managers, this current issue is headlined by a look at the influence of artificial intelligence and real-world evidence/real-world data on patient behavior and ultimately, the many factors and complexities of medicine adherence. In the 

, contributing editor Suzanne Shelley describes how the challenges that patients face when it comes to starting and staying on therapy can prove detrimental to the point of disease progression, along with a rise in morbidity and mortality. Notable as well is the wider impact on other pharma and healthcare stakeholders. For example, as Shelley reports: “Insurance companies end up paying for expensive medical interventions that could have been avoided by more stringent adherence to therapy; even pharmaceutical brands fail to recoup the sunk costs associated with drug development and miss the opportunity to achieve competitive success for the brand when their often life-saving medicines—which were proven to be safe and effective in clinical trials—fail to deliver on their promise due to adherence lapses.”

Sustainable practices in pharma—which consist of implementing environmentally-friendly practices into clinical, manufacturing, and commercial operations—continues to be a paramount topic as well. In our June issue, Craig Wilson, senior director of strategic planning at Marken, specifically 

 the value of environmental, social, and governance practices, including his company’s role in practicing decarbonization strategies, which are vital when working to conserve resources.

Examining the drug pricing landscape, Blake Powers, CEO of Medigi and a member of 

 that new digital solutions and dynamic pricing advantages can have application beyond the generics drug world, trickling into branded and specialty lite products, while trending direct; in turn, pharma manufacturers are providing unique price points to certain sites of care.

 this month, Amy Niles of the PAN Foundation suggests that there should be urgency in making the telehealth flexibilities that were given to Medicare enrollees during the COVID-19 pandemic a permanent fixture. These flexibilities are set to expire Dec. 31, and if Congress doesn't step in, it could result in additional health inequities, Niles contends.

I hope you enjoy this month’s issue. As always, thanks for reading.

The June issue of Pharmaceutical Commerce is headlined by a look at the influence of artificial intelligence and real-world evidence/real-world data on patient behavior and ultimately, the many complex factors that go into medicine adherence.

AI and Patient Behavior 

, which continues the trend of touching on a core aspect of supply chain and logistics, patient services, and trade and channel. In this case, our cover focus is on the pharma cold chain and temperature-controlled monitoring space.

There continue to be endless developments within the cold chain sector, and in April’s 

, Editor Emeritus Nick Basta dives headfirst into the latest technology surrounding temperature-sensitive transport of medicines, including the daily challenges in end-to-end visibility and sustainability that are dealt with. Alex Guite, SVP and GM at World Courier, a division of Cencora, explains to Basta that the preservation of the carbon footprint has now become a necessity in cold chain transport and storage, adding that “a couple years ago, sustainability measures were a ‘nice to have’ part of client conversations; now they are table stakes.”

Cold chain containers only represent one link—or step—in the pharmaceutical supply chain; patients, after all, are ultimately the ones who receive the medications that have endured such calamities as blizzards or hurricanes, or the various other disruptive forces at play throughout the course of a year. In a sit-down 

 with Editor Nicholas Saraceno, Kim Plesnarski, Syneos Health’s VP of market access and patient services solutions, tackles the many diverse issues impacted, including—further down the chain—patient adherence and the tools necessary today to help boost compliance to drug treatments and regimens. Notably, she advises that a “one-size-fits-all” approach to patient education and support should be avoided.

Turning to perspectives on the healthcare policy and access front, Michael Grosberg, VP of product management at Model N, presents an 

 of how current and future legislation might impact the role of pharmacy benefit managers, also known as PBMs. This includes a look at the present-day, 2024 PBM model—one, says Grosberg, designed to encourage payers to cover more expensive drugs because it's more economical for them.

, Bill Roth of IntegriChain pens the third installment of his “Who Moved My Prescription?” series. The newest entry offers an analysis of the issues pertaining to retail pharmacy and how to address them.

These highlighted articles only begin to scratch the surface of our coverage this month; we hope you enjoy perusing all of our content offerings at your leisure. Thanks for reading.

An exploration of the new demands in cold-chain visibility and sustainability—and the resulting tech-driven efforts to address them—leads off our coverage in this month's issue.

Cold Chain, PBMs, and More

Mike Hennessy Jr., President, CEO, MJH Life Sciences

’s inaugural issue of the new year is our 

 that captures a roundtable-type discussion where executives with third-party logistics providers, otherwise known as 3PLs, present their views on the new dynamics and future trends influencing this essential link of the supply chain. Responsible for the movement and distribution of pharmaceutical products, there are several important areas these experts are focused on heading into 2024. One is what Jim Saponaro, president of life sciences, DHL Supply Chain, describes to Editor Nicholas Saraceno as a “need to have more inventory placed in greater proximity to patient populations.” This emphasis, he points out, has resulted in the rising number of multi-client facilities.

The "inventory" Saponaro refers to is the supply of prescription drugs, where sales are estimated to total $1.6 trillion by 2028, according to various forecasts. Speaking of which, in an 

 at current and prospective Rx drug outputs, Saraceno outlines the factors, past and to come, that have and will contribute to the trajectory of this market, including the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rounding out our feature coverage this month is an update on the 

, where Micah Litow of Kalderos and Rob Philo of Philanthros Consulting describe its latest impact on commercial contracts, including how duplicate rebates have caused revenue leakage for manufacturers. Understanding drug pricing—and the associated agreements—is no simple feat, and a reason why Accenture’s Abhishek Sinha, in a 

, suggests that a balancing act is necessary, especially if the goals of profitability and drug access are top of mind.

When it comes to the Medicare Part D part of the equation, the PAN Foundation’s Amy Niles notes that the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has helped bring much-needed change, with the introduction of new reform known as the federal Low-Income Subsidy, or “

” program, which has been in effect as of Jan. 1. Essentially, Niles says, this program signifies that “more patients who struggle to afford the healthcare costs related to their Rx drugs will benefit.”

Meanwhile, in his latest “Commercialization Corner” installment, Bill Roth of IntegriChain continues his “

” series, this month providing an analysis of the two main new pharmacy models, along with industry perspectives of each.

There is plenty of content to sift through, so please enjoy. And as always, we look forward to receiving your thoughts on how we can continue to improve your viewing experience.

The February issue is centered around third-party logistics providers, including  new dynamics and future trends that affect this key supply chain link.