Council to maintain a watching brief on Pfizer's distribution deal
The Council of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society is to keep a watching brief on Pfizer's new distribution arrangements in case any patient care issues arise.
Pfizer’s plans to route its products only through Unichem from
March 2007 were raised at the October
Council meeting by Stephen Wells,
who said that there were concerns about patient safety issues and disruption
to the supply chain. Mr Wells said: “I have already had colleagues
contact me where there has been a restriction through other wholesalers
on Pfizer products already, due to them not having the stock after discussions
with that company. So there has already been an effect. The actual start
date is not until March next year, but obviously we need to consider
patient safety concerns and maybe take a stance.”
David Pruce (director of practice and quality improvement) said that,
although Pfizer’s commercial deal was not something in which the
Society could interfere, the Council would be concerned about any potential
for interruption to patient care if the wholesaler were unable to keep
up with the potential demands.
The President said he understood that the company was taking steps to
ensure that no patient was adversely affected. Until more details emerged,
the Council should note the item, keep a watching brief on it and review
it later if necessary.
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The
Pharmaceutical Journal