In this episode of SCW for Pharma, host Evren Ozkaya welcomes Brian Doel, Vice President of Clinical Supply Chain, Global Supply Chain at Bristol Myers Squibb.

The conversation kicks off with Brian's insights into the pharmaceutical industry, emphasizing its role as a beacon of hope for millions and highlighting the rapid transformation driven by orphan and personalized medicines. Evren and Brian delve into the complexities of the clinical supply chain, noting that only 10% of drug trials result in a marketable product. Brian explains how products evolve through phases 1, 2, and 3 of clinical trials, considering factors like durability and storage.

Brian reveals that around 5,000 trials commence annually, each with a unique cyclical supply chain tailored to its specific requirements. He underscores the necessity of an agile mindset to manage these innovative and responsive supply chains effectively.

The discussion then shifts to the critical role of data-driven decision-making in managing complex supply chains. Brian highlights the productivity gains from automating repetitive tasks and integrating AI into decision-making processes. He emphasizes that AI should augment rather than replace human roles and that cultural change and worker training are essential for leveraging technology's full potential. Collaboration among consultants, academia, and businesses can further enhance digitization efforts.

Brian also discusses the importance of investing in demand-sensing technologies for cyclical supply chain professionals, especially given the low volumes often associated with rare disease drugs. Despite these challenges, he identifies several "low-hanging fruits" where digitalization can significantly improve processes and reduce costs with minimal effort and expense.

Evren and Brian conclude their informative conversation by advocating for openness to change. They emphasize that adaptability will be the most crucial skill for individuals and organizations in the future and urge pharma companies to embrace the evolving business landscape promptly.

In this episode of SCW for Pharma, Evren Ozkaya welcomes Indranil Nandi, Chief Scientific Officer at Jubilant. 

The conversation begins with Nandi's insightful analysis of the pharmaceutical industry's rapid advancements. He highlights the emergence of personalized medicine and the increasing prominence of radiotherapy, which has become a $35 billion market on its own. Evren and Nandi then explore radiotherapy's therapeutic applications and the unique complexities associated with its supply chain. From stringent regulatory oversight to the challenges of managing short-lived radioisotopes, which necessitate just-in-time delivery, Nandi provides a comprehensive overview of the critical considerations for ensuring the effective delivery of these life-saving treatments.

Evren and Nandi then shift the topic to "quality" for pharmaceutical companies. Nandi argues that quality by design starts in the R&D stage. For example, if producers do not set up specifications correctly, they risk triggering an FDA investigation. He also highlights that generic drug companies are more likely to receive warning letters from the FDA due to the greater financial pressure to develop drugs faster and cheaper.

Finally, they discuss the importance of paperless quality solutions and digitalization for pharmaceutical companies, focusing on both compliance and efficiency. Nandi mentions that a typical pharmaceutical company must fill out thousands of forms, logbooks, and batch records annually to demonstrate quality. Manual processes are time-consuming, prone to errors, and make it difficult to interpret data on paper to identify bottlenecks and find solutions. Digital logbooks and batch records offer a cost-effective alternative. They also emphasize that climate change is humanity's biggest challenge in the 21st century, and digitalization and paperless quality solutions are part of the solution for pharma companies to reduce their environmental impact.

Evren and Nandi wrap up their informative conversation by encouraging openness to change. They advocate for embracing opportunities as an early adopter, not just in professional life but in life in general.

In this episode of SCW for Pharma, Evren Ozkaya welcomes Tolga Kula, Director and Global Head of Integrated Business Planning (IBP) at Merck Group. They discuss the benefits and necessity of an integrated business planning approach for pharmaceutical companies and how companies can create an environment that connects the supply chain, finance, and sales departments the right way.

The conversation begins by highlighting the low maturity level of IBP and S&OP processes in pharma companies. Tolga estimates that even for big players, the average maturity level would be around 3 according to Gartner's maturity evaluation.

Tolga then explains the cornerstones of a successful IBP process. This includes using an integrated database where the supply chain, finance, and sales departments collaborate and their forecasts are interconnected. Tolga also emphasizes the importance of data governance from a single platform, allowing all department workers to understand the complete business challenges and opportunities.

Evren and Tolga then discuss the value of machine learning algorithms combined with human expertise to increase forecasting precision. Evren shares his experience from his consulting days, where a simple average of previous months' data provided better forecasting than some companies' existing methods. They also acknowledge that for complex algorithms, machines can deliver even better results.

In the final segment, Tolga provides best practices and tips for IBP managers aiming to digitize their companies. He emphasizes the importance of sponsorship from all departments and initiating digitalization as an end-to-end process for the company's success.

In this episode of SCW for Pharma, Evren Ozkaya welcomes Mike Walker, Microsoft's Executive Director of Global Healthcare and Life Sciences Digital Strategy, to explore why pharma companies are slow in embracing digitalization and ways to help them catch up. They delve into strategies for adapting factories to the production of the growing market of emerging biologics, cell-gene therapies, and mRNA-based drugs, expected to reach nearly 1 trillion dollars by 2030. Mike estimates that only 1%-3% of companies fall under the fully digitized factory of the future category, highlighting the industry's digitization challenges. They explore factors contributing to this lag, including risk management, regulatory compliance, and entrenched status quo, exacerbated by uncertainty on where to begin digital transformation. Mike presents his top 10 supply chain trends for the life sciences industry and discusses the development of a digital ecosystem platform to enable various organizational departments to utilize high-quality data, feeding into high-performing AI and digital twin models.

Join our host, Evren Ozkaya, as he engages in an insightful conversation with Tassilo Krug, who most recently was the Global Head of Portfolio at Sandoz, about effective portfolio management strategies in the generic drug industry. In this episode, they explore the evolving trend pharmaceutical companies are facing: A shift from high-volume, low-price drugs to low-volume, high-price (orphan) drugs. Referencing FDA data, they highlight that in the 2010s, orphan drugs constituted roughly 30% of drug approvals. However, since 2020, the proportion has consistently surpassed 50%. This shift has significantly affected the supply chain and manufacturing strategies of pharmaceutical companies. Tassilo and Evren discuss the anticipated consequences of the surge in low-volume drug production for the generic drug industry, though they expect these impacts to manifest with some latency. Then, Tassilo shares insights on the importance of achieving end-to-end digitalization to enhance visibility and automate processes for pharma companies. They also talk about the role of automation in empowering workers to focus on value-adding tasks rather than tedious, non-value-added activities.

Join our host, Evren Ozkaya, as he welcomes Faris Hattar, Associate Director of Supply Chain Operations at Hikma Saudi Arabia, for an insightful discussion on effectively managing cost pressures in generic drug manufacturing. In this episode, they delve into the challenges faced by pharmaceutical leaders, addressing issues such as high transportation costs, over reliance on a few offshore suppliers and manufacturing bottlenecks. Faris shares strategies to overcome these challenges, emphasizing the importance of enhancing visibility in factories and supply chains to enable swift and informed decision-making. Later in the conversation, Evren and his guest explore the current level of digitalization in the pharmaceutical industry and the underlying reasons for its status.

Join our host Evren Ozkaya as he welcomes ⁠Michael Altman⁠, VP of End-to-End US Supply Chain Operations at ⁠Kenvue ⁠for an insightful discussion on managing one of the largest disruptions of supply chain in the Pharma industry. This episode delves into the crucial balance between capital, cost and service/availability, the significance of an end-to-end supply chain view, and strategies for navigating disruptions, highlighted by lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic. Using the backdrop of the Tylenol supply chain disruption story during the early days of pandemic, Michael & Evren build on their recent HBR article “How Kenvue De-risked Its Supply Chain”. Michael shares his extensive experience and strategies for building resilience and optimization of supply chain operations, offering invaluable insights for anyone looking to understand or improve Pharma supply chains in the face of significant disruptions.

Introducing the 'Supply Chain Wizard for Pharma' podcast series, brought to you by SCW.AI and spearheaded by our host, Evren Ozkaya, Ph.D., the visionary founder and CEO of SCW.AI. Our podcast is dedicated to unveiling the insights and narratives of business and operations leaders who are in the forefront of change & transformation in the pharmaceutical industry. It's our mission to enlighten and inform our listeners about the evolving landscape of the industry, from groundbreaking strategic moves and developments in supply chains, points of views & stories around successes & failures of the organizations, to the transformative wave of digitalization sweeping through Pharma.