Medicines supply chains across Europe could be threatened by the difficult conditions being imposed on full-line wholesalers, the European Association of Pharmaceutical Full-line Wholesalers (GIRP) has heard.
GIRP’s annual general meeting held in Cannes this week heard how its members were grappling with challenges such as margin reductions, varied distribution models and cost containment measures.
Marc van Gelder, CEO of Dutch based full-line wholesaler MEDIQ, said that, without changes to remuneration, full-line wholesaling would become unsustainable in the Netherlands.
And the conference heard that medicines tendering strategies by some European governments presented "a bleak outlook" for the future.
GIRP also warned members about the possible impact of European plans to help improve the traceability of medicines.
The association said requiring wholesalers to record batch numbers when they dispatch medicines to pharmacies could have high costs without delivering clear benefits.
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