The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 280 No 7490 p232
23 February 2008

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Specialist medicines supply pharmacist

Making the break from retail pharmacy has opened up a new world of possibilities and challenges, says Amandip Sidhu

Careers series

After spending several years as a community pharmacist I saw an advertisement for a pharmacist looking “to try something new”. This led to a major career change, to a role in the supply of medicines not licensed in the UK.

The job was with BR Pharma, a company that imports medicines that are not available in the UK, but are licensed in another country and which may be imported on a named-patient basis.

I was appointed to the role of second pharmacist and senior business manager. One of the first areas I looked at was how community and hospital pharmacies were supplied with named-patient medicines. I was oblivious to the complicated procedure involved in the supply of these medicines.

When a named-patient medicine is requested the importing company must apply to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to seek permission for the importation of the specific product. The MHRA will send an acknowledgement letter and the importer must wait 28 days before importing. This is to allow the MHRA to assess the proposed importation and decide if it is permissible under the guidelines.

If it is not the MHRA will write back and formally object to the importation. If no such letter is received the product may be imported and supplied to the pharmacist.

This process has to be followed each time a product is imported. It involves a lot of administration and diligent record-keeping. BR Pharma processes a large number of orders each day. I had not appreciated what was involved when importing a named-patient medicine.

All that concerned me previously was how long would it take to order a product and where could I get it from. I quickly grew familiar with this core part of the business and then started looking at one of the other areas, such as the supply of comparator drugs for clinical drugs.

The compound under investigation in a clinical trial has to be compared against the current treatment. Hence the term “comparator”. We receive requests from clinical research organisations or pharmaceutical companies that need comparator drugs for a trial urgently. Often the key contact at the customer end is a procurement officer who sources both pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical products.

He or she may have little or no drug knowledge, so having a pharmacist on hand for advice and support is invaluable. For example, one customer wanted a large quantity of an oncology drug and asked us to research its availability, strength and formulations. Having spent many years dispensing the drugs I was able to answer the questions on the spot, where previously a flurry of research was needed.

I also knew this product was to be discontinued and, to safeguard future supplies, suggested an alternative generic form of the drug. As a result the supply chain would be maintained for the duration of the trial.

Valuable information

I was starting to see how valuable the information I had learnt over the years was to individuals not familiar with pharmaceuticals and of the benefit of pharmacists helping not only professionals but also other pharmacists and individuals involved in the supply of medicines.

I have taken on projects that have been outside my usual scope. Having had a continuing interest in IT I was asked to help develop the company website to include an online ordering facility. Knowing what information pharmacists need about named-patient medicines I was able to focus our website on providing the best quality information to colleagues, enabling them to source the product quickly and efficiently.

I also oversaw the implementation of a new computerised stock-control system. I helped to research and select a suitable package. My background working in community pharmacy made me aware of the issues surrounding stock control and the most critical aspects of any system employed. The new system has made a vast difference to my company’s stock control and allows us to better manage deliveries and despatches, benefiting the pharmacist and, ultimately, the patient.

BR Pharma has grown exponentially and I now head the sales support division. We look after the UK business and the growing export business and manage daily requests for products from community pharmacies and hospitals.

My department also manages named-patient programmes, where we work with a company that has launched a new medicine and is receiving requests for it in territories other than its country of launch.

We manage the demand on behalf of the manufacturer to ensure an ethical and efficient supply is made to any country in the world. This needs extensive regulatory information on many countries. I advise clients on this area, which brings to the forefront new and exciting products.

Having knowledge of current treatments for many therapeutic areas I can see the potential in a new product and advise clients on its use. This satisfies my natural scientific curiosity and rekindles some of the spark I had as an undergraduate.

I am the Responsible Person for the company. Pharmaceutical wholesalers have a named individual (or individuals) on the wholesale dealer’s licence who is responsible for the pharmaceutical activities of the company and the supply of all products. Patient safety and quality are the prime concerns.

This role has provided an opportunity for development and has been part of a swathe of continuing professional development. For example, I recently attended an accredited course to enable me to site-audit against ISO9001 and good manufacturing and distribution standards. This will be invaluable as we have to ensure the validity and compliance of our suppliers.

My experiences show that pharmacists have a lot more to offer than just dispensing. Although the role of traditional pharmacist is rewarding I have now entered a whole new world. It is clear that our knowledge can be put to great use in assisting other pharmacists, our fellow healthcare professionals and, more importantly, patients.