On 14 October, the Deutsche Post DHL hosted its annual DHL Life Sciences and Healthcare Conference at Serengeti Golf and Wildlife Estate in Kempton Park.
The event provided networking and information sharing opportunities among industry peers and experts. DHL hosts the conference to help its customers gain deeper insight into future developments in the health care and pharmaceutical space, and to exchange innovative ideas and view new logistics solutions.
Focused on the future
This year’s conference was centred on the theme ‘imagine the future’, and focused on challenges affecting industry. Discussing them in detail in his opening address, Darryl Zietsman, DHL regional customer manager Life Sciences & Healthcare said: ‘As a logistics community, we are faced with common challenges and opportunities. These are related to temperature controlled good distribution practice, cost-efficiency, trade compliance and regulations, growth in emerging markets, closer engagement to the end user and thus a constant need for improved innovative ways of doing business.’
To assist its customers in overcoming those difficulties, the conference explored the following:
- What do challenges such as these mean for life sciences and health care companies?
- What are the best alternative supply chain strategies?
- How can life sciences and health care companies manage them more efficiently?
- How can they achieve or maintain regulatory compliance?
Support from government
DHL was pleased to have the support of the National Department of Health (DoH) this year with the Medicines Control Council’s Karen Ford as the key note speaker.
Ford’s presentation was entitled The Changing Face of Regulatory Control. She delved into a variety of topics such as pharmaceutical and health care innovations and how they influence regulations. For example, technological developments like microchip modelling for clinical trials and the digestible sensor first launched in 2011 which looks like a pill and transmits patient information to doctors both require new sets of medical regulations to ensure compliance and ultimately consumer safety.
However, it’s not only the innovations that need to be regulated but also the entire lifecycle, be it a medical device or a pharmaceutical product. This includes the storage, distribution and transportation linked to these products.
Ford said that regulators like the MCC need to keep pace with changes in innovation by adapting their existing policies or creating new ones. Regulators also need to pursue a best practices approach and to tap into their global network of regulatory authorities for benchmarking.
Regulations on the cards for cosmetics
In addition to regulating South Africa’s pharmaceutical industry, Ford said the MCC is working on strengthening regulations for the cosmetics industry, and developing more workable regulations for the complementary and alternative medicines or health products sector. Increased regulations are also on the cards for the food and beverage industry.
More regulations will demand increased manpower at the MCC as the backlog in the registration process is already a major issue affecting the pharmaceutical industry. Ford said the DoH is being proactive in this regard with the launch of the Institute for Regulatory Science in February 2014. The institute is a training academy that acts as a formal structure to train regulators and as a hub for training regulatory pharmacists in the industry.
According to www.sanews.gov.za, the institute was established in line with the proposed amendments to the Medicines and Related Substances Act and the DoH’s aim to create the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA). The article on the sites mentions ‘the new authority will replace the current MCC. The proposal is to bring the medical devices’ industry, cosmetics and foodstuffs as well as pharmaceuticals under the jurisdiction of SAHPRA. The hope is that this long awaited regulatory body will also speed up the registration of generic medicines.’
An informative day
Another presentation included a very interesting outlook from Patrick Figgis, PwC’s Global Healthcare Leader, on disruptive trends in the health care industry. The most impactful message from Figgis was how technology and big data will influence the global health care industry in the future.
The day also included interactive workshops on hospital logistics, growth beyond borders in terms of transport and access to new markets, and the New Customs Act.
Image caption: DHL’s Darryl Zietsman thanks Karen Ford from the MCC for her interesting presentation at the DHL Life Sciences and Healthcare Conference
