This material has been funded by UK aid from UK Government’s Department for International Development, however the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the UK Government’s official policies. KNOWLEDGE PARTNERSHIP PROGRAMME Strategic Sourcing of Indian Pharmaceuticals: A Blueprint for Creating a Global Buyer’s Guide Empower School of Health June, 2014
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
This material has been funded by UK aid from UK Government’s Department for International Development, however the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the UK Government’s official policies.
KNOWLEDGE PARTNERSHIP PROGRAMME
Strategic Sourcing of Indian Pharmaceuticals:
A Blueprint for Creating a Global Buyer’s Guide
Empower School of Health
June, 2014
Strategic Sourcing of Indian Pharmaceuticals:
A Blueprint for Creating a Global Buyer’s Guide
Submitted to:
Knowledge Partnership Programme – Supported by DfID (UKAID)
By:
Strategic Sourcing of Indian Pharmaceuticals: A Blueprint for Creating a Global Buyer’s Guide
2
Preface
The study has been conducted under the aegis of Knowledge Partnership Programme (KPP).
KPP is funded by the UK Department for International Development (DfID) and managed by a
consortium led by IPE Global. KPP aims to support evidence generation and uptake on issues
central to India’s national development and its impact on global poverty, and promote sharing
of Indian evidence, best practice and expertise for lesson learning on an international level. The
study is strategically aligned with the KPP objectives: the role of good quality pharmaceuticals is
of utmost importance in two of the KPP work streams (health, trade & investment).
The study is a detailed research of one of the recommendations from another DfID funded study
titled: “Dynamics of Pharmaceutical Quality Systems for the Export of Pharmaceuticals from
India to Africa”. The recommendation was:
Support buyers to strategically source good quality pharmaceuticals from India (through the
creation of an International Buyer's Guide)
The Buyer’s Guide is a dynamic database of registered pharmaceutical products and their
manufacturers, which are certified and of assured quality. The study thus assesses the need for
a buyer’s guide and determines the content, design, implementation, and impact of establishing
the database. The scope of the study is limited to finished pharmaceutical products; vaccines,
medical devices, diagnostics, biologicals and AYUSH (Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy)
are not included in the study.
During this study a total of 60 organisations were contacted in India and three African countries
(Kenya, Ghana and Ethiopia).
Prof. Paul Lalvani,
Dean and Director,
Empower School of Health
Strategic Sourcing of Indian Pharmaceuticals: A Blueprint for Creating a Global Buyer’s Guide
3
Acknowledgements
Empower School of Health would like to thank DfID for providing the opportunity to conduct
this landscape analysis. We are grateful to Billy Stewart, Sabina Barnes, Roli Asthana and Nel
Druce for their guided support throughout the study.
We thank all the organisations who have provided vital insights for the study. A list of
organizations interviewed is presented below.
We would like to acknowledge the support provided by IPE Global overall, and especially Dr.
Dinesh Agarwal, for his reviews and feedback.
We are most grateful to Pharmexcil and especially Dr Appaji and his team for their
encouragement and support for this project.
This study would not have been completed without the constant support from Mr. Sunil
Nandraj, Mr. Kaushik Desai, Dr. P.D.Sheth, Dr. Sakthivel Selvaraj, and Ms. Leena Menghaney.
Finally, we thank all the research team members in Africa (Ethiopia, Kenya and Ghana) for their
support during the project.
Indian Organizations
CDSCO, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Pharmexcil, National Institute of Biologicals,
FDA-Maharashtra, USFDA India, USAID, WHO-SEARO, MSF, IDA Foundation, Missionpharma,
CHAI, SEAR Pharm, Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance, Public Health Foundation of India, Drug
Information Association, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Ethiopian Embassy India, Ranbaxy
laboratories, Medopharm, Prime pharma, IPCA laboratories, Micro Labs, Dabur, PSI India,
Regulatory Wisdom.
African Organizations
FMHACA (Ethiopia), PFSA (Ethiopia), SCMS (Ethiopia), DKT international (Ethiopia), CHAI
(Ethiopia and Kenya), Caroga Pharma (Ethiopia), Yoha International (Ethiopia), USAID (Ethiopia
and Kenya), IFRC (Kenya), DfID (Ethiopia, Kenya and Ghana), FDA (Ghana), MoH (Ghana), PSI
(Kenya), MEDS (Kenya), Kenya AIDS Control Project, CHMP (Kenya), KEMRI/CDC (Kenya), PPB
Section 1 Background: Pharmaceutical Imports into Africa (Focus on Indian Exports) .................................... 13
1. Overview of Pharmaceutical Imports into Africa .............................................................................................................. 13
2. Quality Control of Pharmaceutical Exports from India................................................................................................... 14
3. Inadequacies in the Quality Control of Pharmaceutical Procurement from India ............................................. 17
Section 2 Understanding the Buyer’s Needs and Gaps for Pharmaceutical Procurement ................................. 19
1. Profile of the Procurement Organisations ............................................................................................................................ 19
2. Level of Quality Assurance Activities ...................................................................................................................................... 23
3. Which Product Categories Are of Highest Interest? ......................................................................................................... 25
4. How Do Procurement Organisations Search For New Suppliers? ............................................................................. 26
5. What Criteria Do Procurement Organisations Use for Selecting a New Supplier? ............................................ 28
Section 3 Need, Impact and Challenges for the Buyer’s Guide ....................................................................................... 32
1. Need analysis for the Buyer’s Guide ........................................................................................................................................ 32
2. Impact of the Buyer’s Guide ......................................................................................................................................................... 33
3. Challenges and Potential Solutions .......................................................................................................................................... 34
Section 4 Architecture of the Buyer’s Guide............................................................................................................................ 35
1. Content of the Buyer’s Guide ....................................................................................................................................................... 35
2. Data Sources ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 36
3. Components of the Buyer’s Guide ............................................................................................................................................. 36
6. Delivery Format ................................................................................................................................................................................ 38
Section 5 Development of the Buyer’s Guide .......................................................................................................................... 39
1. Poor Quality Indian Pharmaceuticals Highlighted in the Media ................................................................................. 41
2. Manufacturing Sites in India and Their Relative Quality Standards ......................................................................... 42
3. Visual Representation of the Buyer’s Guide ......................................................................................................................... 43
4. Letter of Interest from Partners in Population and Development (PPD) ............................................................... 46
Questionnaires used for Primary Research ........................................................................................................................................... 47
List of Respondents .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 57
About Empower and the Authors .............................................................................................................................................................. 63
Photo Journey of the Study ............................................................................................................................................................................ 65
Strategic Sourcing of Indian Pharmaceuticals: A Blueprint for Creating a Global Buyer’s Guide
5
List of Figures and Tables
Figure 1: Pharmaceutical Market Size of Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa (Excluding South Africa) ........................... 13
Figure 2: Pharmaceutical Imports to Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa (Excluding South Africa) ................................... 13
Figure 3: Pharmaceutical Exporting Countries to Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa (Excluding South Africa) ......... 14
Figure 4: Procurement Value of Pharmaceuticals .............................................................................................................................. 20
Figure 5: Number of Unique Products Purchased by the Procurement Organisations .................................................... 20
Figure 6: Distribution Network of the Procurement Organisations .......................................................................................... 22
Figure 7: Mapping of Quality Assurance for Private Sector Imports ......................................................................................... 24
Figure 8: Mapping of Quality Assurance for International Procurement Agents/ NGOs ................................................. 25
Figure 9: Product Categories Where Buyers Need More Suppliers ........................................................................................... 25
Figure 10: Methods Used by Buyers for Searching New Suppliers ............................................................................................ 26
Figure 11: Supplier Selection Criteria Used by Buyers .................................................................................................................... 28
Figure 12: Registration Status by Product ............................................................................................................................................. 29
Figure 13: Registration Status by Manufacturer ................................................................................................................................. 29
Figure 14: A New Quality Approach .......................................................................................................................................................... 30
Figure 15: Aggregation of Different Sources of Price ........................................................................................................................ 31
Figure 16: Feedback for the Buyer's Guide ............................................................................................................................................ 33
Figure 17: Impact of the Buyer’s Guide ................................................................................................................................................... 33
Figure 18: Data Flow in the Buyer’s Guide Database ........................................................................................................................ 35
Figure 19: Various Data Sources................................................................................................................................................................. 36
Figure 20: Components of the Buyer’s Guide Database ................................................................................................................... 37
Figure 21: Implementation Plan ................................................................................................................................................................. 39
Table 1: Type of Procurement Organisations ....................................................................................................................................... 19
Table 2: Category of Procurement ............................................................................................................................................................. 21
Table 3: Procurement Source: comparing India and China ........................................................................................................... 22
Table 4: Non-neutral Methods Used by Buyers to Search for New Suppliers ....................................................................... 27
Table 5: Neutral Sources Used by Buyers to Search for New Suppliers ................................................................................... 27
Table 6: Criteria for Differentiating between Quality Assured and Quality Verified Suppliers .................................... 30
Strategic Sourcing of Indian Pharmaceuticals: A Blueprint for Creating a Global Buyer’s Guide
6
Acronyms
ACT – Artemisinin Combinational Therapy API – Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient ARV – Anti Retro Viral (therapy BDMA – Bulk Drugs Manufacturers Association BP – British Pharmacopeia CDSCO – Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation CHAI – Clinton Health Access Initiative CHMP – Centrale Humanitare Medico Pharmaceutique CII – Confederations of Indian Industry CoA – Certificate of Analysis CoPP – Certificate of Pharmaceutical Product CPHI – Convention on Pharmaceutical Ingredients DMF – Drug Master File DRA – Drug Regulatory Authority EML – Essential Medicines List ERP – Expert Review Panel EU – European Union FIP – International Pharmaceutical Federation FMHACA – Food, Medicine and Healthcare Administration and Control Authority of Ethiopia FTE – Full Time Equivalent GDF – Global Drug Facility GLC – Green Light Committee cGMP – Current Good Manufacturing Practices HPV – Human Papilloma Virus HTML – Hyper Text Markup Language IAPG – Inter Agency Procurement Group IAPHL – International Association of Public Health Logisticians IDMA – Indian Drug Manufacturers Association IFRC – International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies IPA – Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance IPHEX – International Exhibition for Pharma and Healthcare ISO – International Organization for Standardization IUD – Intra Uterine Devices IPPF – International Planned Parenthood Federation JSI – John Snow Inc KEMSA – Kenya Medical Supplies Agency LIC – Low Income Countries LTA – Long term Agreement MCH – Maternal and Child Health MEDS – Mission for Essential Drugs and Supplies MEG – Medical Expert Group MHRA – Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency MMV – Medicines for Malaria Venture MSH – Management Sciences for Health MSI – Marie Stopes International NABL – National Accreditation Board for Laboratories NAFDAC – National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control NCD – Non Communicable Diseases NDRA – National Drug Regulatory Authority NGO – Non-Government Organizations OI – Opportunistic Infections OPPI – Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers in India ORS – Oral Rehydration Solution PFSA – Pharmaceutical Fund and Supply Agency PfSCM – Partnership for Supply Chain Management PIC/S – Pharmaceutical Inspection and Cooperation Scheme
Strategic Sourcing of Indian Pharmaceuticals: A Blueprint for Creating a Global Buyer’s Guide
7
PPB – Pharmacy and Poisons Board PPD – Partners in Population and Development PMNCH – The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health PQP – Pre-Qualification Programme PSI – Population Services International QA – Quality Assurance RBM – Roll Back Malaria initiative RDT – Rapid Diagnostic Test RFP – Request For Proposal RFQ – Request For Quotation RHSC – Reproductive Health Supply Coalition RMNCH – Reproductive, Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health SCMS – Supply Chain Management Systems SRA – Stringent Regulatory Authority STI – Sexually Transmitted Infections UNICEF – United Nations Children Fund USFDA – United States Food and Drug Administration UNFPA – United Nations Population Fund USP – United States Pharmacopeia W3C – World Wide Web Consortium WHO – World Health Organization
Strategic Sourcing of Indian Pharmaceuticals: A Blueprint for Creating a Global Buyer’s Guide
8
Executive Summary
The pharmaceutical market size of Africa was estimated at approximately US$ 20 billion in
2011, while that of Sub-Saharan Africa excluding South Africa was estimated at US$ 7.5 billion
(less than 40% of the overall Africa market size). Pharmaceutical imports account for nearly
60% to 70% of the overall market size. Pharmaceutical export to Sub-Saharan Africa excluding
South Africa from India is nearly US$ 1.4–1.6 billion, while export to the entire continent is
nearly US$ 1.8–2.0 billion. Therefore, a large portion of pharmaceutical imports in Africa,
especially Sub-Saharan Africa excluding South Africa is from India.
In terms of healthcare financing in Africa, around 60% is from the private sector.
Approximately 30% is contributed by the public sector (varies significantly by country) and
approximately 10% of Africa’s healthcare expenditure is financed directly by donor aid.
In terms of quality control of imports, majority of the procurement organisations (especially
private sector) do not have systems in place and rely on their NDRAs for Quality Assurance
activities. However, most NDRAs in Africa have limited capacity to control the quality of
imports. In addition, there are several complexities and unique features in the Indian
pharmaceutical market, which make it even more difficult to procure quality products from the
country. These include a fragmented pharmaceutical sector of more than 10,000 manufacturing
sites, variation in accreditations of manufacturing sites, outsourcing practices in manufacturing,
use of neutral codes for export of bulk items, mixed capacity of Quality Control laboratories in
India, issuance of Certificate of Analysis (CoA) by a manufacturer’s laboratory as opposed to an
independent laboratory, large variation in quality and source of Active Pharmaceutical
Ingredients (APIs), and export of biologicals and bio-similar products, which are complex to
regulate.
In order to solve this problem, some of the procurement organisations have established
additional Quality Assurance systems for pharmaceuticals purchased from India; in some cases
this includes a full-fledged sourcing and quality-assurance operation. Additionally, international
donors have also defined their own policies for the procurement of pharmaceuticals, especially
when purchasing from non-regulated pharmaceutical markets like India. But most other
procurement organizations conduct very little quality assurance activities and are not even
aware of the measures being taken by the better informed/funded procurement organizations.
They also do not have access to an easy reference or information about ‘quality-certified’
products and their regulatory status.
In order to analyse this need, research was conducted with African and global procurement
organisations. A brief profile of these organizations is presented below:
Registration (type of organisation): The procurement organizations can be classified
into the following categories: private sector importers, procurement agents (national
and international), NGOs (national and international), and national procurement
organisations (Government).
Size of procurement organisation: Total procurement value of all 23 buyers exceeded
US$ 3 billion annually (for 2012). The larger procurement organisations purchase more
than 1,000 different products worth more than US$ 500 million annually; the smaller
Strategic Sourcing of Indian Pharmaceuticals: A Blueprint for Creating a Global Buyer’s Guide
9
procurement organisations purchase less than 10 products worth less than US$10
million.
Type of products procured: Procurement organisations buy more pharmaceuticals
(almost half of the procurement organisations spend more than 70% of their budget on
pharmaceuticals) than non-pharmaceutical health commodities (diagnostics, devices,
supplies etc.).
Supplier source: India is the largest supplier of pharmaceuticals to the various
procurement organisations (more than 70% of the organisations source 50-100% of
their total pharmaceutical need from Indian suppliers).
Distribution network: The procurement organisations selected for the study were a
mix of national (distributing their products in a single country) and multi-national
organisations (distributing their products in multiple countries).
Funding source: Around 60% of healthcare financing in Africa is from the private
sector. Approximately 30% is contributed by the public sector (varies significantly by
country) and approximately 10% of Africa’s healthcare expenditure is financed directly
by donor aid.
The findings from the research are presented below:
In terms of Quality Assurance activities, the private sector buyers conduct very few
Quality Assurance activities and international procurement agents and NGOs conduct a
lot more Quality Assurance activities. For the other procurement organisations such as
public sector buyers, national procurement agents and NGOs, the results were mixed.
The respondents were then asked to rate their need to find more suppliers for various
product categories. The highest need was recorded for Non Communicable Disease
(NCD) drugs, Reproductive, Maternal and Child Health (RH and MCH) commodities,
followed by other categories.
Various existing methods used by buyers while searching for a new supplier were also
mapped — it was found that most of the methods used were non-neutral and company-
owned ‘marketing’ channels.
The respondents were finally asked a series of questions regarding criteria for selecting
new suppliers. Based on their responses, the criteria have been classified into high
importance, medium and low importance. Product range, registration status, clientele,
product recall and price are the criteria with high importance.
The responses also confirmed that an ‘Independent Pharmaceutical Product Buyer’s Guide of
India’ would provide procurement and importing organizations with the necessary guidance
and support to make procurement decisions. In terms of impact, the buyer’s guide will promote
healthy competition, potentially leading to a larger number of quality suppliers, thereby
improving quality of the product, reducing lead-time for procurement, and driving down prices.
The buyer’s guide is a dynamic database of registered pharmaceutical products and their
manufacturers which are certified and of assured quality. Hence it is essentially an interface
between the pharmaceutical suppliers and the pharmaceutical buyers. Data will be collected
from suppliers, buyers and regulatory / quality organizations, which will be verified internally
as well as from a third party. This data will be cleaned and entered onto the database. The
Strategic Sourcing of Indian Pharmaceuticals: A Blueprint for Creating a Global Buyer’s Guide
10
buyer or the donor will then be able to access this data through the web and mobile device.
Data will be revised and added continuously to the database.
The buyer’s guide is proposed to be developed in three phases: develop the application, develop
the content, and conduct advocacy and capacity building for the use of a buyer’s guide.
Strategic Sourcing of Indian Pharmaceuticals: A Blueprint for Creating a Global Buyer’s Guide
11
Methodology
The objective of the study “Strategic Sourcing of Indian Pharmaceuticals: A Blueprint for
Creating a Global Buyer’s Guide” is:
“To assist global public and private sector buyers in sourcing good quality, competitively
priced, sustainable supply of pharmaceuticals from India by developing a ‘Buyer’s Guide”.
The methodology adopted to accomplish the above was a mix of primary and secondary
research. Details about the primary research are presented below:
India research phase:
Discussions were held in India with regulatory organizations (Ministries, national and
state drug regulatory authorities, other Governmental organizations), suppliers
(manufacturers, industry associations) and other organizations (academic, forums,
consulting and advocacy organizations)
Africa research phase:
A workshop was conducted at the start of the project with participants from various
organizations to select the model countries for research in Africa and to fine-tune the
methodology for the research
Face-to-face and telephonic interviews were conducted with procurement organizations
(both public and private sector), and regulatory organizations (NDRAs, donors,
international regulatory organizations) in three African countries: Ethiopia, Ghana and
Kenya. The three countries in Africa were chosen based on DfID focus, pharmaceutical
consumption, share of pharmaceutical imports from India, and relative capacity of the
NDRA to control pharmaceutical imports (with respect to other countries in Sub-
Saharan Africa, excluding South Africa).
An online survey (using Google survey tool) was also conducted with global procurement
organizations to understand their quality assurance procedures while conducting
procurement from India
A results review workshop was conducted at the end of the research to include feedback on
the findings from both the India research phase and the Africa research phase.
Recommendations from the study were also discussed with the DfID India team during this
workshop.
A total of 60 organizations were interviewed for this research. The respondents have been
classified into 13 categories: NGOs, Donors, Procurement agents, Manufacturers, Indian
Regulatory Organizations, Public Sector Importers, Private Sector Importers, Importing Country
NDRAs, Manufacturer Industry Associations, International Regulatory Organizations, Quality
Control Labs, Raw Material Supplier and others. A detailed list is appended at the end of the
report.
Strategic Sourcing of Indian Pharmaceuticals: A Blueprint for Creating a Global Buyer’s Guide
12
Apart from this, extensive secondary research was also conducted. A comprehensive list of
reports, journals, databases and news articles referred for the study are also mentioned at the
end of the report.
Strategic Sourcing of Indian Pharmaceuticals: A Blueprint for Creating a Global Buyer’s Guide
13
Section 1 Background: Pharmaceutical Imports into Africa (Focus on Indian Exports)
1. Overview of Pharmaceutical Imports into Africa
The pharmaceutical market size of Africa estimated at approximately US$ 20 billion in 2011,
and that of Sub-Saharan Africa estimated at US$ 7.5 billion (less than 40% of the overall Africa
market size)(see figure 1)1.
Pharmaceutical imports account for nearly 60% to 70% of the overall market size, which is US$
11.5 billion for the entire African continent, and US$ 5.1 billion for Sub-Saharan Africa (see
figure 2)2
European Union (EU) countries and India are the biggest exporters of pharmaceuticals to
African countries; interestingly, exports to Africa from India are also routed through the EU.
It was mentioned during an interview with Food, Medicines and Health Care Administration and
Control Authority (FMHACA), the NDRA for Ethiopia, that a significant value of Indian
1 IFPMA data (2011). 2IFPMA date (2011).
Figure 1: Pharmaceutical Market Size of Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa (Excluding South Africa)
Figure 2: Pharmaceutical Imports to Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa (Excluding South Africa)
Strategic Sourcing of Indian Pharmaceuticals: A Blueprint for Creating a Global Buyer’s Guide
14
pharmaceutical exports is routed from EU countries like France and Belgium to Ethiopia (see
figure 3)3.
Figure 3: Pharmaceutical Exporting Countries to Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa (Excluding South Africa)4
Pharmaceutical export to Sub-Saharan Africa from India is nearly US$ 1.4–1.6 billion, while
export to the entire continent is nearly US$ 1.8–2.0 billion.
2. Quality Control of Pharmaceutical Exports from India
India’s exports an estimated US$ 11 billion (2012)5 of pharmaceuticals to more than 150
countries around the globe. Approximately one quarter of the pharmaceuticals are exported to
African countries, especially to Sub-Saharan African countries. With these pharmaceutical
exports, India has been contributing to public health globally and is often referred to as the
‘pharmaceutical factory’ to the world. For example, India has a dominant global market share of
anti-retrovirals (ARVs) (80%) and paediatric ARVs (90%) in the world6. Some studies estimate
that Indian companies account for more than 50% of the pharmaceutical market in several
African countries.
Also, India has one of the largest numbers of high quality United States Food and Drug
Administration (USFDA) / United Kingdom’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory
Agency (MHRA) approved manufacturing plants7. However, India also has thousands of
manufacturing units with weak manufacturing standards (refer to Appendix [1] for various
media articles).
Indian pharmaceutical industry is unique and complex in many ways. Some of these practices
are discussed below:8
3 Interview with FMHACA, Ethiopia 4Minor differences exist in the total import figures due to different sources. 5 WTO data (2012). 6Waning B, Diedrichsen E, Moon S. A lifeline to treatment: the role of Indian generic manufacturers in supplying antiretroviral medicines to developing countries [Internet]. JIAS. 2010. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2944814/. 7 Pharmexcil (India) data (2012). 8 These findings have also been summarised from the research conducted by Empower for DfID in the report ‘Dynamics of Quality in Pharmaceutical Exports: An India-Africa Focus’
Strategic Sourcing of Indian Pharmaceuticals: A Blueprint for Creating a Global Buyer’s Guide
15
a) Fragmented industry with consolidated sectors: India’s pharmaceutical industry is
highly fragmented with more than 10,000 manufacturing units. Of these, only about 1,2009
sites export pharmaceuticals (about 12%) and only 350 sites (3.5%) account for 85% of
the exports10 and 2/3rd of these exporting sites are concentrated in just three states
(Gujarat, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh), with remainder of the sites being spread
across 30+ states and Union Territories. Knowing which companies and which states are
the major supplier of pharmaceuticals can help to manage quality more strategically.
b) Different accreditations of manufacturers: At minimum, all Indian manufacturers must
have a ‘Schedule M’, which is a license to manufacture (based on WHO-GMP guidelines) and
is issued by the state governments. All manufacturing sites that export from India must be
approved jointly by CDSCO (central) and state DRAs and can be described as ‘Schedule M+’
(there are about 1,200 of these units). Some of these manufacturers have been further
certified by the international procurement agents (for example, Crown Agents, SCMS,
International Dispensary Association (IDA)11, UN procurement agents and various large
procurement agents that have certified 300–400 manufacturers); several more have been
approved by WHO Pre-Qualification Programme12 (approximately 30–50); and a few
hundred manufacturer sites have been approved / inspected by SRAs (for example, USFDA
500–600)13(refer to Appendix [2] for a visual representation of the various accreditations
of the Indian pharmaceutical manufacturers). Most international NDRAs and buyers are
not aware of these variations and therefore are missing valuable information for better
management of quality assurance.
c) Outsourcing practices in manufacturing: There are different kinds of pharmaceutical
companies in India—some have their own production, some that outsource or ‘loan-
license’ a small part of their production and some pharmaceutical ‘marketing’ companies
that ‘loan-license’ most / all of their production. Approximately 1/3rd of all pharmaceutical
manufacturing licenses in India are loan licenses and manufacture for other companies and
exporters14. For a buyer, it is important to know the ‘pedigree’ of the various materials in
order to ensure quality assurance along the entire supply chain. Unfortunately this is not
easy to achieve given the layers upon layers of outsourcing.
d) Use of neutral coding for bulk export: Pharmaceuticals can be exported in fully finished
packs in the name of manufacturer, exporter or the importer or they can be exported in
bulk without any labelling using a ‘neutral code’. Neutral code allows a manufacturer to
avoid writing its name and country of origin on the package; instead, an alpha-numeric
code is used, which identifies the supplier’s details. This leads to significant ‘information
opacity’, especially for the end consumer. The extent of the use of neutral coding in India
while exporting pharmaceuticals is unknown and requires further research. Most
9 Pharmexcil (India) data (2012). 10 CMIE data indicated in Role and Contribution of National Pharmaceutical Industry by IPA (2011). 11As per interview with IDA, Mumbai. 12Analysis of WHO PQP list for ARVs, ACTs, anti-TB drugs and Reproductive Health medicines. 13As per data from Pharmexcil, India (2012) and interview with USFDA, India. 14As per analysis of data from ‘National List of Drug Manufactures / Loan Licensee and COPPs Holder in the Country ‘by CDSCO (updated 11/08/2011).
Strategic Sourcing of Indian Pharmaceuticals: A Blueprint for Creating a Global Buyer’s Guide
16
international NDRAs and buyers are not aware of these variations and therefore are
missing valuable information for better management of quality assurance.
e) Capacity of Quality Control laboratories in India: There are seven central government
laboratories and 29 state government laboratories in India. Some of the central and state
laboratories are International Organization for Standardization (ISO) / National
Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL)15 certified, while the
others are not. CDSCO has approved around 135 independent, private laboratories in India
for quality testing. These laboratories have different kinds of approvals / certifications (by
CDSCO or NABL or WHO or USFDA etc). Given the large number of manufacturing units in
India, these laboratories are insufficient in number and capacity16. Apart from these, there
are a large number of manufacturer-owned, in-house drug testing laboratories. Knowing
which laboratories are good and independent, can be a valuable tool in managing drug
quality.
f) Issuance of Certificate of Analysis (CoA) from a manufacturer’s laboratory: A CoA
indicates that the pharmaceutical product conforms to a specific standard of quality
(United States Pharmacopeia [USP], BP etc). The CoA is a key document to verify the
quality of pharmaceutical product and is mostly produced by manufacturer’s own
laboratory (only a few NDRAs, donors and international procurement agents / NGOs insist
on using an independent quality-assured laboratory17; for example, Global Fund insists on
using a WHO PQ lab or an ISO lab and the National Agency for Food and Drug
Administration and Control has pre-qualified its own set of laboratories18). Most
international buyers and NDRAs do not request for independently issued COA, but rely on
the manufacturer.
g) Quality and source of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs): Active Pharmaceutical
Ingredient (API) is the key ingredient for pharmacological action in the body. Following
are the major issues with APIs:
i. Dependence on imports from China: The leading pharmaceutical companies in India
import 30–70% of their API needs. In value terms, 58% of the total imports are
sourced from China, or 80% in terms of volume19. In recent years, there have been
many quality-related problems with imported APIs, which has forced the Indian NDRA
(CDSCO) to inspect the API manufacturers in China on a routine basis (that was earlier
conducted on an annual basis)
ii. Inspection of the API supplier: API source is usually not inspected by most African
NDRAs. SRAs, WHO PQP and several international procurement agents usually audit
the API manufacturer
iii. Cost of APIs: The cost of APIs from quality-assured API manufacturers (i.e. with Drug
Master File [DMFs]) is 10 times more than those without DMFs. Therefore,
manufacturers often switch between API sources to lower costs or replace bottlenecks,
without notifying NDRAs. In most African countries, switching API source does not
15 National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) is an autonomous body under the aegis of Department of Science & Technology, Government of India. Government of India has authorised NABL as the accreditation body for Testing and Calibration of Laboratories. NABL provides an accreditation based on ISO 17025. 16Mashelkar Committee Report (2003); Initiatives, Achievements and Targets CDSCO (2001–2020); 59th Report on functioning of CDSCO by Department related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare, (2012). 17 CDSCO. Guidelines for port officers on import and export of drugs and cosmetics. 18 As per interviews conducted with various Indian and African authorities. 19 Toward End–to–End Leadership in Select APIs –Analysing India’s dependence on imports for API production (BCG, 2013).
Strategic Sourcing of Indian Pharmaceuticals: A Blueprint for Creating a Global Buyer’s Guide
17
involve submission of a ‘major variation’ document (it does in SRA countries, South
Africa and several others).
Most international buyers and NDRAs are not aware of the potential risk for not asking and
verifying information around APIs.
h) Export of biologicals and bio-similar products: Indian manufacturers produce more
than 60 biological therapeutic products or bio-similars (for example, interferon,
erythropoietin, insulin, rituxmab). CDSCO has recently published guidelines for
registration of these products in India and now suppliers are exporting these products to
Africa. Sales and registration of biological products in African countries is starting to
increase; however, there is weak or no capacity in African NDRAs to assess and register
these types of bio-similar products.
Unfortunately most of the NDRAs and buying organisations are not aware of these complexities
in the Indian pharmaceutical manufacturing sector and they do not have access to an easy
reference or a guide of ‘quality-certified’ products with information about their regulatory
status.
3. Inadequacies in the Quality Control of Pharmaceutical Procurement from India
1. As mentioned in the previous section, there are various complexities in the Indian
pharmaceutical sector, which pose a challenge for the Quality Control of exported products.
Some of the NDRAs and procurement organisations that are aware of these complexities
have set up their own internal Quality Assurance systems for pharmaceuticals purchased
from India. Additionally, international donors have also defined their own policies for the
procurement of pharmaceuticals. For example, many donors allow procurement of
products that have been approved by WHO PQP or SRA, or have been approved by their own
2. Additional requirements from African NDRAs: A few NDRAs have established one-on-one
arrangements with CDSCO or with Quality Control laboratories or directly with the
manufacturers. For example, Nigeria’s NAFDAC asks for an additional certificate from QCS
for any pharmaceutical export from India—this has to be mandatorily checked by the
CDSCO port office before the shipment exits India20
3. Internal Quality Assurance standards: Some organisations, particularly international
procurement agents and NGOs (such as UN agencies) have their own internal stringent
Quality Assurance policies for importing pharmaceuticals from India. These may include
procurement from a WHO PQP site or an internal process to pre-qualify a supplier. IDA has
set up its sourcing office in Mumbai, India and procures 60% of its pharmaceutical supplies
from more than 350 suppliers in India21.
However, majority of the procurement organisations do not have systems in place for Quality
Control of imports and rely on their African NDRAs for Quality Assurance activities.
20CDSCO. CDSCO issues stringent norms for pharma exporters. Circular number ADC/TECH/BSZ dated January 1, 2010 by CDSCO office of the Assistant Drugs Controller (ADC) [Internet]. Sub Zone Bangalore. Available from: http://pharmexcil.org/data/uploads/CDSCO_issues_stringent_norms.pdf. 21 Interview with IDA office in Mumbai. August 2013
Strategic Sourcing of Indian Pharmaceuticals: A Blueprint for Creating a Global Buyer’s Guide
18
Unfortunately, most NDRAs in Africa have limited capacity to control quality of imports.
Further, the WHO PQP covers only 62 out of 350 (18%) pharmaceuticals on the Essential
Medicines List (EML).22
Therefore, the process for procurement of pharmaceuticals in Africa can thus be summarised as
follows: some buyers purchase only quality-assured medicines some India; others conduct
additional quality certification activities, especially when there are no quality-assured products
available; but most other buyers do very little quality assurance activities and are not even
aware of the measures being taken by the better informed/funded buyers.
In some cases, there is data sharing between some of the bigger procurement organisation (for
example, Médecins Sans Frontières [MSF], WHO, UN agencies etc); there is also some leveraging
of efforts from other organisations leading to waiving of re-audits and re-inspections (for
example, MSF will normally not re-inspect any manufacturing site approved by an SRA).
However this information is confined to a few international NGOs and not available to many
other international and national procurement organisations including the private sector, which
imports a majority of the pharmaceuticals into Africa.
As a result, there is currently no simple, easy to use, aggregated tool for finding quality-assured
or even quality-certified suppliers from India.
22 Empower analysis of data from the WHO PQ list and WHO EML as on December 2013.
Strategic Sourcing of Indian Pharmaceuticals: A Blueprint for Creating a Global Buyer’s Guide
19
Section 2 Understanding the Buyer’s Needs and Gaps for Pharmaceutical Procurement
As discussed in the previous chapter, there is no simple, aggregated and comprehensive source
to help procurement organisations make cost-effective decisions for the procurement of quality
medicines. As stated by an interviewee, the fundamental need is articulated as follows:
In order to analyse this need, research was conducted with 23 African and global procurement
organisations. This section provides an analysis of questions that were asked from the
respondents, with respect to decision making while selecting a supplier.
1. Profile of the Procurement Organisations
Following is an analysis of the profile of the respondent organisations, based on the typology
created in the previously referred DfID funded study titled: “Dynamics of Pharmaceutical
Quality Systems for the Export of Pharmaceuticals from India to Africa”. Refer to Part 1 of the
report: Role of key Stakeholders in the Indian Pharmaceutical Quality System for Export:
1. Registration (type of organisation): The following table lists the organisations
interacted with:
Table 1: Type of Procurement Organisations
Private sector importer
Procurement agent (national and international)
NGO (national and international)
National procurement organisation (Government)
Dominion pharmaceuticals (Kenya)
PFSCM (International) PSI India Ukrainian Center for Control of Socially Dangerous Diseases (Ukraine)
Caroga Pharma (Ethiopia)
DKT Ethiopia PSI Kenya KEMSA (Kenya)
YOHA international (Ethiopia)
IDA Foundation (International)
MEDS (Kenya) MoH Ghana
procurement unit
Veteran pharmaceuticals Ltd (Kenya)
CHMP Kenya PSI Global PFSA (Kenya)
Mission Pharma (International)
KEMRI/CDC (Kenya) Kenya AIDS Control Project
SCMS Ethiopia IFRC (International)
UNFPA (International) MSI (International)
I want to find suppliers who make quality products that are registered in the countries where
we work, can supply them reliably, and of course, at the lowest possible cost.’
------- Marie Stopes International, Head of International Procurement
Strategic Sourcing of Indian Pharmaceuticals: A Blueprint for Creating a Global Buyer’s Guide
20
2. Size of procurement organisation: Total procurement value of all 23 buyers exceeded
US$ 3 billion annually (for 2012). The larger procurement organisations purchase more
than 1,000 different products worth more than US$ 500 million annually; the smaller
procurement organisations purchase less than 10 products worth less than US$10
million. See figure 4 below:
The procurement of less than US$10 million, which constitutes 45% of the pie chart,
is represented mainly by the national procurement organisations. These
organisations purchase a large number of products but their procurement value is
on the lower side because of low coverage
Majority of the procurement organisations purchase 101–500 products (see figure
5)
3. Type of products procured: Procurement organisations buy more pharmaceuticals
(almost half of the procurement organisations spend more than 70% of their budget on
pharmaceuticals) than non-pharmaceutical health commodities (diagnostics, devices,
supplies etc). There are some exceptions like PSI Kenya and MSI, which procure non-
pharmaceuticals more than they do pharmaceuticals. Refer to table 2:
Figure 4: Procurement Value of Pharmaceuticals
Figure 5: Number of Unique Products Purchased by the Procurement Organisations
Strategic Sourcing of Indian Pharmaceuticals: A Blueprint for Creating a Global Buyer’s Guide
21
Table 2: Category of Procurement
S.No. Name of Organization Procurement of pharmaceuticals (% of total)
Procurement of non-pharmaceuticals (% of total)
1. PFSCM 80% 20% 2. IFRC 60% 40% 3. Marie Stopes 40% 60% 4. UNFPA 80% 20% 5. IDA Foundation 80% 20% 6. PSI Global 35% 65% 7. CHMP Kenya 60% 40% 8. Missionpharma 70% 30% 9. KEMRI/CDC 60% 40% 10. Ukrainian Center for Control of Socially
Dangerous Diseases 60% 40%
11. PSI India 100% 0% 12. PSI Kenya 20% 80% 13. KEMSA, Kenya 70% 30% 14. MEDS, Kenya 75% 25% 15. Kenya AIDS Control Project 20% 80% 16. DKT Ethiopia 45% 55% 17. PFSA, Ethiopia 55% 45% 18. Caroga Pharma, Ethiopia 80% 20% 19. YOHA International Pharmaceuticals 85% 15% 20. Dominion Pharmaceuticals 95% 5% 21. Veteran Pharmaceuticals 80% 20%
4. Supplier source: India is the largest supplier of pharmaceuticals to the various
procurement organisations (more than 70% of the organisations source 50-100% of their
total pharmaceutical need from Indian suppliers). Refer to table 3.
Procurement organisations buy very little pharmaceuticals from China (majority
source less than 25% of their pharmaceutical procurement from China)
There are some national procurement organisations, which buy most of the
products locally and rely less on Indian and Chinese suppliers; for example, KEMRI
/ CDC, Kenya AIDS Control Project
Strategic Sourcing of Indian Pharmaceuticals: A Blueprint for Creating a Global Buyer’s Guide
22
Table 3: Procurement Source: comparing India and China
S.No. Name of Organization Procurement from India (% of total)
Procurement from China (% of total)
1. PFSCM 60% 15% 2. IFRC 60% 30% 3. Marie Stopes 35% 15% 4. UNFPA - 15% 5. IDA Foundation 60% 35% 6. PSI Global 60% 15% 7. CHMP Kenya 15% 0% 8. Missionpharma 60% 25% 9. KEMRI/CDC 10% 10% 10. Ukrainian Center for Control of Socially
Dangerous Diseases 35% 15%
11. PSI India 100% 0% 12. PSI Kenya 65% 5% 13. MEDS, Kenya 65% 25% 14. Kenya AIDS Control Project 20% 15% 15. DKT Ethiopia 60% 0% 16. PFSA, Ethiopia 65% - 17. Caroga Pharma, Ethiopia 65% 0% 18. YOHA International Pharmaceuticals 100% 0% 19. Dominion Pharmaceuticals 80% 15% 20. Veteran Pharmaceuticals 90% 5%
5. Distribution network: The procurement organisations selected for the study were a mix
of national (distributing their products in a single country) and multi-national
organisations (distributing their products in multiple countries). Refer to figure 6:
6. Funding source: Funding source for the organisations is a mix of private sector,
Government (public sector) or donor funds. Around 60% of healthcare financing in Africa
is from the private sector. Approximately 30% is contributed by the public sector (varies
Figure 6: Distribution Network of the Procurement Organisations
Strategic Sourcing of Indian Pharmaceuticals: A Blueprint for Creating a Global Buyer’s Guide
23
significantly by country) and approximately 10% of Africa’s healthcare expenditure is
financed directly by donor aid23.
2. Level of Quality Assurance Activities
This section analyses the Quality Assurance activities of some of the procurement organisations
that were contacted. Key elements of quality assurance are:
Audits / Inspections (especially for Indian suppliers)
Frequency of audits / Inspections
Pre-shipment testing
Post-shipment testing
Post-marketing surveillance
Laboratory used
Different procurement organisations conduct different levels of Quality Assurance activities.
Two extreme responses are presented below: one for the private sector buyers, who conduct
very few Quality Assurance activities and the other for international procurement agents and
NGOs, which conduct a lot more Quality Assurance activities. For the other procurement
organisations such as public sector buyers, national procurement agents and NGOs, the results
are mixed.
1. Private sector buyers - Key observations are as follows (refer to figure 7):
Four private sector buyers reported their quality assurance activities
Despite sourcing most of the pharmaceuticals from India and China, the buyers follow
no particular Quality Assurance processes
Only one buyer out of the four conducts pre-shipment testing, however, they do not
utilise a WHO pre-qualified / ISO certified laboratory
As evident from the graphic below, private sector importers have less stringent Quality
Assurance procedures
23Estimates from WHO World Health Report 2005, 2006 and NHA reports for Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe; extracted from IFC.The Business of Health in Africa - Partnering with the Private Sector to Improve People’s Lives [Internet]. Available from: http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2008/06/10/000333037_20080610012512/Rendered/PDF/441430WP0ENGLI1an10110200801PUBLIC1.pdf.
Strategic Sourcing of Indian Pharmaceuticals: A Blueprint for Creating a Global Buyer’s Guide
24
Figure 7: Mapping of Quality Assurance for Private Sector Imports
2. International procurement agents and NGOs—Key observations are (refer to figure 8):
All the organisations conduct a physical inspection of the manufacturing facilities and
re-inspect the site within 2–5 years of the initial inspection
Pre-shipment testing is adopted by all the organisations, preferably utilising a WHO pre-
qualified laboratory
Strategic Sourcing of Indian Pharmaceuticals: A Blueprint for Creating a Global Buyer’s Guide
25
Figure 8: Mapping of Quality Assurance for International Procurement Agents/ NGOs
3. Which Product Categories Are of Highest Interest?
The respondents were asked to rate their need to find more suppliers for various product
categories. The results are presented in the figure below. As is evident from the graph, the
highest need was for NCD drugs, Reproductive, Maternal and Child Health (RH and MCH)
commodities, followed by other categories. Anti-TB medicines have the lowest need, possibly
because there is significant guidance on pre-qualified suppliers for public health procurement
by the Global Drug Facility (GDF) and the Green Light Committee (GLC), setup under the WHO.
The findings are not surprising—most of the products in the RMNCH and for Opportunistic
Infections / Sexually Transmitted Infections have not been pre-qualified. OI and STI drugs
include antibiotics, anti-fungals, anti-pyretics, anti-virals among others (refer to figure 9).
Figure 9: Product Categories Where Buyers Need More Suppliers
Strategic Sourcing of Indian Pharmaceuticals: A Blueprint for Creating a Global Buyer’s Guide
26
Drugs for NCDs: The main types of non-communicable diseases accounting for
maximum mortalities across the globe are cardiovascular diseases, cancers and chronic
respiratory diseases. Despite high demand, none of the products have been WHO pre-
qualified till date
Drugs for RMNCH: Out of the 13 lifesaving commodities enlisted by the UN Commission
focusing on RMNCH ‘Continuum of Care’, only seven have been WHO pre-qualified so far,
and most of them have 1-2 approved suppliers only.
Drugs for OIs/STIs: The most common infections are Syphilis, Gonorrhea, Chlamydia,
Trichomoniasis, Hepatitis B, Herpes, HIV and Human Papilloma Virus. However, only
pharmaceutical products pertaining to HIV treatment have been WHO pre-qualified so
far. Approximately 50 products needed to treat STIs and OIs are not pre-qualified by
WHO.
4. How Do Procurement Organisations Search For New Suppliers?
The figure and tables below mention the various methods used by buyers while searching for a
new supplier—it is important to emphasise here that most of the methods are non-neutral and
company-owned ‘marketing’ channels24 (see figure 10). The definition and examples of non-
neutral vs. neutral sources are included in table 4.
24
Empower School of Health . Buyers’ survey conducted by Empower School of Health. [2013].
Figure 10: Methods Used by Buyers for Searching New Suppliers
Strategic Sourcing of Indian Pharmaceuticals: A Blueprint for Creating a Global Buyer’s Guide
27
Table 4: Non-neutral Methods Used by Buyers to Search for New Suppliers
Company Generated Non-
neutral Sources
Details
International pharmaceutical
conferences
Convention on Pharmaceutical Ingredients (CPHI), MEDICA,
International Exhibition for Pharma and Healthcare (IPHEX)
Internet search Google, Yahoo, BING
Visits by company sales reps The manufacturers also approach through their representatives or
through mail expressing interests
International tours and visits
with industry and
associations
Visits to Indian and Chinese manufacturers
Table 5: Neutral Sources Used by Buyers to Search for New Suppliers
Neutral / Objective Sources Details
Manufacturers directory
developed by neutral sources
MSH International Drug Price Indicator
RFP / RFQ/ Expressions of
Interest (EOI)
Through competitive tenders, especially for overseas suppliers
Procurement agents Work with procurement agency associations QuRHM, RHSC, IAPG,
JSI, Crown Agents, IDA etc
Pre-qualified suppliers Through WHO / UNFPA ERP (Export Review Panel) process
Many use the WHO directory to get the pre-qualified suppliers WHO
PQ list, SRA Lists, Global Fund lists
Many countries’ organisations use the pre-qualified lists prepared by
their head offices
Strategic Sourcing of Indian Pharmaceuticals: A Blueprint for Creating a Global Buyer’s Guide
28
5. What Criteria Do Procurement Organisations Use for Selecting a New Supplier?
The respondents were then asked a series of questions regarding criteria for selecting new
suppliers. Based on their responses, the criteria have been classified into high importance,
medium and low importance. Product range, registration status, clientele, product recall and
price are the criteria with high importance. Refer to figure 11:
Product registration is by far the most important criteria and need for the global community,
because one of the biggest challenges while importing pharmaceuticals is the registration
process. Every product intended for export has to be registered with the NDRA of the importing
country. Some countries take 1–3 years to register a product (South Africa, Brazil, Ethiopia and
Russia), while others take only a few months. There are steps towards harmonising the
registration process, but this will still take several years. Registration of product is also a direct
indication of product quality, especially if it has been registered in SRA countries. For example,
in the absence of WHO prequalification of a product, a USFDA or MHRA approval may be used
instead. The following figures represent a useful way of organizing and presenting regulatory
data:
Figure 12 represents registration status of a particular product (manufactured by different
companies) in SRA countries and approval by donors / international organizations.
Figure 13 represents registration status as well as WHO prequalification status of various
products (by a single manufacturer).
Figure 11: Supplier Selection Criteria Used by Buyers
Strategic Sourcing of Indian Pharmaceuticals: A Blueprint for Creating a Global Buyer’s Guide
29
Figure 12: Registration Status by Product
Figure 13: Registration Status by Manufacturer
Strategic Sourcing of Indian Pharmaceuticals: A Blueprint for Creating a Global Buyer’s Guide
30
Quality of products and manufacturers was considered to be of high importance and this was
captured in product registration status (column 1), product recalls (column 4) and list of global
clients, most of whom verify quality of product and manufacturer before making any purchases.
As discussed in Chapter 1, quality of Indian pharmaceutical products can vary depending on
various parameters—funding agency of the procurement, country of import, strength of the
NDRA and Quality Control by the procurement organisations etc.
Within quality, one of the important discussions was the difficulty in balancing quality and
access to medicines. The interviewees raised the following questions: What should a public
health program do if there is no pre-qualified product, but donors only fund a pre-qualified
product? Do we buy nothing? Do we buy another product which is not ‘Quality Assured’? If yes,
what quality standard is good enough? And where do we find an alternative product? At
present, due to lack of any specific guidance, public health programs and various procurement
agents are following their own internal processes. An alternate quality approach is presented in
figure 14 and table 6:
Figure 14: A New Quality Approach
Table 6: Criteria for Differentiating between Quality Assured and Quality Verified Suppliers
Parameters Quality Assured Quality Verified
WHO pre-qualification
SRA country approved
Other DRA approved (including non-SRA PIC/S)
Approved by international procurement agents / UN agencies
Approved by global health organisations (MSI, PSI, MSF etc.)
Previous export history to SRA or PIC/S countries
WHO cGMP certificate issued by the exporting country NDRA
Strategic Sourcing of Indian Pharmaceuticals: A Blueprint for Creating a Global Buyer’s Guide
31
Product range was the third most important criteria as this allows buyers to aggregate
purchases from fewer suppliers, negotiate better terms, and ensure better Quality Control. As
mentioned above, the most common way to get information about manufacturers is from non-
objective sources (non-neutral sources i.e. which can be influenced by the manufacturer) of
manufacturer websites, trade conferences and manufacturer sales representatives. None of
these sources are ideal, for obvious reasons. Searching for product range is also difficult and
must be done, site-by-site and organisation-by-organisation.
Price, reportedly, was the fourth criteria of importance. Due to poor market intelligence and
information asymmetry, donors and buyers can end up paying 10–15 times more for the same
product25. There are 7–10 different sources that provide pharmaceutical prices, but this
information is scattered across websites, CDROMs and hardcopy publications. Further,
untangling the ‘real price’ in order to compare products is complex and varies by volume,
packaging, lead-times, quality, INCOTERMS etc. This is represented in figure 15:
Figure 15: Aggregation of Different Sources of Price
Financial status includes criteria that provide some degree of assurance of sustainability about
the manufacturer such as years of operation and total revenues.
Other criteria were considered of less importance and include two variables—the company’s
global presence and the number of people working in the company.
25MSH. International Drug Price Indicator Guide [Internet]. 2012.Available from:http://erc.msh.org/dmpguide/index.cfm?search_cat=yes&display=yes&module=dmp&language=english&year=2012.
Strategic Sourcing of Indian Pharmaceuticals: A Blueprint for Creating a Global Buyer’s Guide
58
Results Review Workshop
Participant Organization E-mail id 1 Dr. Nel Druce DfID India 2 Ms. Sabina Barnes DfID India [email protected] 3 Ms. Roli Asthana DfID India 4 Dr. Dinesh Agarwal IPE Global [email protected] 5 Mr. Raghav IPE Global 6 Prof. Paul Lalvani Empower School of Health [email protected] 7 Mr. Siddharth Srivastava Empower School of Health [email protected] 8 Mr. Sanjay Saha Empower School of Health [email protected] 9 Ms. Prabhleen Arora Empower School of Health [email protected] 10 There were several other members present partly or for entire duration of the meeting