Mike Hennessy Jr.

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

2025 is upon us, officially marking a quarter of a century since Y2K and the midpoint of the decade. There is no doubt that time does quickly fly by, and with that, the

The first edition of the year is powered by a 

 at pharmaceutical third-party logistics providers (3PLs)—those organizations responsible for handling the logistics for a range of products that are unable to be accomplished by a manufacturer, distributor, or dispenser. This year, Editor Nicholas Saraceno once again provides a deep dive into the fluid role of 3PLs, the lessons they learned post-COVID-19, the key trends impacting industry, and more via a roundtable-type discussion with leaders in the sector.

Also examined this month is an issue impacting communities throughout the US—retail pharmacy closures. In fact, a December 2024 study from researchers at UC Berkeley School of Public Health and USC found that about one in three retail pharmacies in the country have closed their doors since 2010. As a result, pharmacy deserts—areas where city residents live more than a mile away from the nearest pharmacy—are increasing in frequency. In her 

, Jenni Zilka of Good Neighbor Pharmacy and Cencora elaborates on the troubling trend, sharing that pharmacy deserts are located in areas that are up to 40% more likely to have fewer primary care providers and higher social vulnerabilities, such as poverty and lack of access to transportation.

Switching gears to some of our column highlights: in 

 of his new “Popping the Gross-to-Net Bubble" series, Bill Roth of IntegriChain describes the steps that pharma manufacturers can take to address these revenue gaps. One is to revisit history to determine what approaches have been successful, including, for example, cross-functional collaboration.

And I would be remiss not to announce a sincere welcome to two new KOL voices to the regular 

 commentary slate in 2025. Sean O’Hearen of 1st Line Partners will present unique insights on brand protection and product integrity challenges in pharma, while Chris Dowd of ConnectiveRx will dig into the always changing and deeply layered issues prevalent in patient support. Both columns debut this month 

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

Articles

Our February issue is highlighted by an examination of the latest trends and strategies from the perspective of third-party logistics providers, and introduces new expert commentary covering a pair of pivotal realms in the pharma supply chain journey. 

3PLs and New Voices

In the blink of an eye, 2024 has come to a close. Or just about. The December issue of 

 represents the final installment of the year, and quite frankly, the editorial team could not have picked topics that were any timelier, beginning with the latest advances in drug traceability.

This niche topic has been headlined routinely by the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA), a piece of legislation that was signed into law over a decade ago as a component of the Drug Quality Security Act. It’s intended to provide the industry with a blueprint for safely tracking pharmaceuticals as they move through the supply chain. In his 

, Editor Emeritus Nicholas Basta details the journey that industry has taken in complying with new mandates in the DSCSA on tracking drugs at the package level via an electronic, interoperable system.

Basta's report is a timely one, as the FDA again recently pushed back the enforcement deadline. He notes that the agency has proposed a new schedule for when full compliance becomes mandatory.

In other coverage this month, EVERSANA’s Maria Kirsch 

 the top barriers encountered by patient services programs today, including lack of information; long wait times; rising costs of therapies; socio-economic challenges; fragmented care coordination; and access to technology. Concerning high drug costs, she cites an honest fact that many patients may not want to state aloud: the spikes in price place such a large financial burden on patients—especially those with chronic conditions or those in need of specialty meds—that many of them are forced to seriously consider whether they can afford to continue treatment.

Meanwhile, speaking of the patient journey, Sonam Dubey and Vishal Singal of Beghou Consulting note in a 

 that when traditional data sources, such as claims and diagnostic and procedure codes, are combined with advanced analytics, the end result is a resource that can help lower diagnosis times, understand the “why” of patient behaviors and decisions, and identify patient cohorts for enhanced patient engagement and interventions.

With the popular “Who Moved My Prescription?” now in the rear-view, Bill Roth of IntegriChain welcomes a 

 on “Popping the Gross-to-Net Bubble" in healthcare. The term refers to the widening gap between the gross revenue associated with a product (total sales at list price) and the net revenue (the amount received by the manufacturer after discounts, rebates, fees, and other adjustments).

We welcome your feedback on the coverage highlighted and the rest of our December slate. As always, thanks for reading.

Our December analysis of the twists and turns in the Drug Supply Chain Security Act is a timely one, as the FDA recently again pushed back the    deadline for complying with new mandates on tracking and tracing drugs at the package level.

Traceability's Latest Curve 

 marks the second to last one of 2024. To help keep the momentum going through the end of the year, it’s only fitting that this edition is headlined by a cold chain topic, one of the publication’s “bread and butters.”

We wanted to focus on exploring the technological advances in this space, and although that can be a tall task, SpotSee’s Billy Sanez articulates the concept well in a 

 on keeping often-critical "do-not-freeze" injectable drugs safe through to the "last mile" of their delivery. “Cold chain logistics managers must use the right solutions for the product being shipped at every stage of the supply chain,” he notes. “Single-use indicators are most valuable during the last mile, as they are more easily read by distribution staff and end users. Conversely, devices with minute-by-minute connected alerts and robust analytics capabilities are preferable for continuously monitoring the entire supply chain. In addition, everyone involved in last-mile distribution should understand their respective job and its far-reaching consequences.”

Contributing Editor Suzanne Shelley touches on temperature management as well in her 

 into the trends and strategies shaping the practices of specialty pharmacies and their partners. She also explores the complex commercialization and access aspects associated with specialty therapies, noting there are three primary objectives that efforts focus in on: ensuring swift drug access for patients, minimizing out-of-pocket (OOP) expenses, and promoting sustained adherence to therapy. The goal for today’s specialty pharmacies is to anticipate and then address all the needs that individual healthcare providers and patients may have.

 of his “Who Moved My Prescription?” series, Bill Roth of IntegriChain details a major complaint issued by manufacturers—the fact that branded prescriptions are increasingly being turned away by retail pharmacies of all kinds, an extension of the issues faced by specialty-lite products nearly a decade ago. Meanwhile, in her latest 

, Amy Niles of the PAN Foundation examines a pair of provisions from the Inflation Reduction Act that will go into effect on Jan. 1 of next year, including a $2,000 cap on OOP drug spending for all individuals with a Medicare Part D plan. The concern lies in the unintended consequences these could have on patients, she points out, particularly the threat of rising Part D premiums.

All this and more highlight our October offerings. We hope you enjoy, and thanks for reading.

Headlining our October issue of Pharmaceutical Commerce is a look inside an emerging key component of cold chain transport and management—ensuring the safety and control of novel injectable drugs through to their "last mile."

Strengthening the Chain 

 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.

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. 