“One of the most important factors in successfully conducting clinical studies is the efficient management of clinical study supplies.” - BearingPoint
The key to the success of a drug development programme is the effective management of clinical trials. Clinical trials today are bigger, more complex, spread across multiple sites and conducted in ever-shrinking timelines making their management a daunting task. However, optimal management of Clinical Trials Supply Chain could play an important role in conducting successful clinical trials.
Lack of proper infrastructure at study sites, regulations, availability of qualified study personnel, frequent changes in the trial design and uncertainty in the demand of clinical supplies due to unpredictable patient retention are some of the major challenges in conducting a clinical trial. Nonetheless, adapting to the changes induced by internal and external factors to ensure completion of the trial within the stipulated time frame and budgets is important and this is where a Clinical Trial Supply Chain's role becomes critical to the success of a trial.
Clinical trials account for 50-70 per cent of the total spending on bringing a new drug to market and take an average of 10 years to be completed. According to a BearingPoint study, each day saved in the clinical development stage can contribute US$ 600,000 for a niche drug and US$ 8 million for a blockbuster drug in revenues every day. An efficient Clinical Trial Supply Chain ensures that all variations arising out of the huge disconnect that exists between the clinical trial supply demand planning, forecasting and the supply process are accounted for and dealt with in real time.
