French pharmaceutical distribution has been under the spotlight for the last 18 months. Back in December, the French Competition Authority (FCA) published the results of its 10-month investigation into the sector. Now Whitehall Training has launched a French language version of its highly successful Good Distribution Practice course to serve the sector.
France is one of the biggest consumers of pharmaceutical products in the world and one of the most complex markets in which to commercialize pharmaceutical products. At around £150, its per capita consumption of medicines is the highest in the world.
Partly in an attempt to bring this cost down through the increased use of generics, the French Competition Authority launched an inquiry into competition within the pharmaceutical distribution sector. The aim was to investigate each tier in the distribution chain and decide whether it was competitive and contributing to lower prices, improved service, and innovation.
Around three-quarters of pharma company sales in France are to wholesalers and distributors, with less than 10% going straight to pharmacies and the remainder to hospitals. The investigation concentrated on pharmaceutical companies, wholesale distributors and pharmacies.
The conclusions of the FCA investigation were that the sector should undergo a “progressive and limited adaptation” to align itself with “new methods of commercialisation and consumers’ expectations in terms of price and service levels”. The changes should involve the entire distribution chain and aim to stimulate both innovation and price competition.
Seeking to balance the apparently conflicting desires of greater generic sales and increased innovation, the FCA states that short-term cost savings can be ploughed the development of innovative treatments.
The FCA fires a warning shot or two, making it clear that there is fine line between legitimately protecting IP rights and defending the quality of a branded product against generic competitors, and potentially unlawful attacks against lower cost treatments.
Schering Plough was deemed to have firmly crossed the line by disparaging Arrow’s generic buprenorphine in its sales pitches, as well as granting pharmacists significant discounts to prompt them to stock up on Subutex just ahead of the launch of the generic. It was judged to have embarked on a campaign to raise a number of health-related concerns about Arrow’s generic, even suggesting that it was more vulnerable to illegal trafficking.
The FCA admits that cases like this seem to be a largely French phenomenon. In other countries, generics have a greater market share and are viewed with less suspicion by users. It will be interesting to see whether “limited adaptation” is really sufficient to radically change the French pharmaceutical distribution sector.
Good Distribution Practice in French was written by Louise Handy, who is a chairperson for the British Association of Research Quality Assurance (BARQA). It covers quality control, manufacturing, distribution, warehousing, quality assurance, regulation and compliance. Regulations in Europe & US state that all participants of all aspects of medicinal distribution must comply with the principles and guidelines of GDP. The course informs participants how a high level of GDP quality is maintained throughout the distribution network, so that authorised medicines are distributed throughout the supply chain without any alteration to their properties.
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