If the past months have not demonstrated the essence of the Pharmaceutical Industry then what will is unthinkable as it stands. The pandemic that has revolutionized the way the world functions, came with so much uncertainty and trepidation. The only glimmer of hope was the thought of a vaccine that could make the present reality lesser than a nightmare.
This hope could mostly be fulfilled by the Pharmaceutical Industry. As the whole world stood still in wait, this industry became fraught with the weight of providing the world with a vaccine which at the time of writing this, one has been developed.
As it is quite typical of the Pharmaceutical Industry, they develop, discover, produce and commercialize pharmaceutical drugs for prescribed or self-medications. This is geared towards curing patients’ illnesses, managing or vaccinating them. Companies like: Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Roche, Novartis, Merck & Co, GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi, Takeda, Shanghai Pharmaceutical Holding, AbbVie, etc., are some of the top players in the industry that help to make our lives less eventful.
Sadly as heroic as the role played by the Pharmaceutical industry sounds, they are challenged daily in the course of rendering their service to mankind.
1. Regulation
Pharmaceutical companies are subject to a generous amount of laws and regulations that govern the testing, patenting, efficacy, and marketing of the drugs they manufacture. Apart from the Five P-s of Good Manufacturing Practices that guide them, the regulations imposed on them in their different countries by the agencies and drug laws set a yardstick for operations in this Industry that can be limiting.
Although this is of the essence to ensure that the consumers are not endangered, this can make it difficult for new players in the industry to thrive. Therefore, if the government and regulatory bodies can recognize that we cannot exactly have enough pharmaceutical companies, they will be caused to make the industry more welcoming of budding companies who are solution-oriented.
2. Imitation of drugs
This has been a pain in the neck for Pharmaceutical companies since the get-go. Fake drugs produced by money-thirsty and exploitative individuals have dented the images of a lot of these companies. Not only that, but foremost has endangered a lot of lives in the process. This challenge has led to regulations that control the quality and potency of certain drugs produced and distributed for consumers.
3. Premises and Equipment
With this challenge comes maintenance and cross-contamination. What comes to mind first is the control of pests. They are the bane of contamination in any manufacturing facility where drugs are produced. Pharmaceutical companies spend a lot of money to ensure that this risk is curbed. Still, as we humans exist and are dogged about our means of livelihood, so do pests about survival.
Several measures can be taken to create effective pest control solutions for pharmaceutical facilities to tame this situation. Some of those that have proven effective over time are the following:
- Training members of staff on how to operate the premises and equipment to shut pests out.
- A good drainage design that controls pest invasion.
- Proper sanitation and elimination of residue from the previous production.
4. Demand forecasting
This is an important part of pharmaceutical companies. To do more than staying afloat, companies must know the market and its consumers enough to supply as much as it calls for demand.
With this challenge resolved, goods can be manufactured at the time needed and supplied duly. Pharmaceutical companies must constantly do their research on the prevalent needs in the society around them, to keep up with the demand.
