The Role of Pharmaceutical Wholesalers in the Drug Industry
As price takers, wholesalers act as price makers in distributing brand-name drugs but are more active in setting generic drug prices.
FREMONT, CA: Pharma wholesalers buy drugs from manufacturers, store them, then sell and distribute them to chain pharmacies, independent pharmacies, hospital and clinic pharmacies, nursing homes, and mail-order pharmacies. Wholesalers distribute more than 90 percent of prescription drugs.
The wholesale industry plays an important and lucrative role in the supply chain, yet policymakers pay little attention to it. Research indicates that wholesalers retained about 4 percent of the pharmaceutical sector's total revenue, which is 18 billion dollars.
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Policymakers may not always realize how wholesalers make money, such as by forward-buying, which involves buying extra inventory at today's prices so they can sell it later at a higher price.
Brand-name drugs: Wholesale acquisition costs (WACs) are set by manufacturers for each drug. Brand-name manufacturers sell drugs wholesale to wholesalers for a discount that is kept confidential. Pharmacies purchase brand-name drugs from wholesalers at WAC less a negotiated discount. Wholesalers are often price takers in brand-drug markets, often buying at a discount from WAC and selling at WAC minus five percent.
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One of the common concerns within biopharma is not a matter of generating evidence per se. What makes it even harder is the possibility of sustaining a consistent stream of information through several studies or regulations over prolonged periods of time. As such, the issue of data continuity gains more importance as evidence generation software solutions are currently evaluated by potential buyers.
Evidentiary initiatives are never limited to the sole scope of their objectives. Information retrieved once can become relevant several times over the life cycle of a particular product. Researchers may need to re-examine certain findings, compare results of treatment between different periods of time or study data acquired within separate research processes. It becomes especially complicated if there are no consistent information sources within an organization.
Such considerations begin to impact the choice of evidence generation software. While the tools themselves are hardly ever used to produce any scientific insights directly, their contribution lies in facilitating further evidence processing and management.
The problem becomes apparent as evidentiary research programs move past their initial objectives. It is rare for evidence generation initiatives to have a definite deadline or goal. Several years may pass between the start of the research process and its end, which means that there can be many staff changes, reconsiderations of previous assumptions or emergence of new questions.
When information proves hard to find or analyze, the whole process can be slowed down significantly. The amount of effort spent tracking documents, verifying the integrity of information and understanding research history may prove to be considerable. At the same time, these aspects might not become a major focus of technology evaluation.
Procurement conversations about evidence generation software solutions are shifting in this direction. Buyers' attention moves from operational effectiveness to information sustainability as evidence programs grow more extensive and complex. They are starting to see evidence generation software platforms as tools for sustaining knowledge over time rather than project management resources.
This brings a change to the list of priorities for software developers. Features aimed at optimizing research processes are essential but buyers become concerned with data preservation as well. As such, information continuity becomes part of a solution's institutional memory function rather than just another aspect of project management.
While data continuity may not be as prominent as some new trends in evidence analytics, it addresses a pressing problem faced by many biopharma teams. Evidence generation projects tend to outlast their budgets, original objectives or even the members of a team conducting research.
For biopharma companies investing in such tools, the problem is shifting from acquiring new information to keeping existing data context-sensitive. ...Read more
Inventus, the only company in the world dedicated to creating purpose-built devices and technology solutions exclusively for clinical trials, has made a key appointment from Google to its advisory board.
Mark Bennett, a Vice President at Google, will be working with Inventus in the capacity of Board Adviser.
Bennett has more than two decades in senior leadership roles at companies including Microsoft, Sainsbury’s & Tesco.
He is currently Google’s Vice President of Knowledge & Information Partnerships for the EMEA region, leading product partnerships for Search, Gemini, Maps, Commerce, Research and Ads .
Bennett has spent more than 10 years in Google Partnerships across a range of teams including Knowledge & Information, Android, Google Hardware and Google Play.
Bennett’s previous roles at Google include VP for Platforms and Devices Partnerships for the APAC region and Vice President for Google’s Global Android Partnerships.
Bennett said he was excited to support Inventus - known for its innovative and industry leading clinical trial solutions - to help map out its next phase of growth.
He said: “I’m delighted to be advising the board at Inventus. I’m impressed by the growth and strategy of the company and am looking forward to helping them accelerate that trajectory. I’ve been intrigued by the biomedical sciences sector for some time and seen how AI is an increasingly important factor for the industry. I’ll be advising Inventus on how technology can be harnessed to enhance the efficiency, effectiveness and overall impact of clinical trials, helping bring better treatments to patients faster.”
Bennett is the second key appointment from Google at Inventus in recent months.
Earlier this year, Jon French, Managing Director of Google’s Android Global Business, was appointed Group Managing Director at Inventus.
Commenting on Bennett’s new role, French said: “I could not be more excited to welcome Mark to the Inventus advisory board. I know personally what an incredible leader Mark is. His expertise and perspective will be tremendous assets to our business.
“As Inventus enters its next phase of growth, his experience, judgement and strategic vision will help shape our direction and strengthen our ability to achieve our long-term ambitions. At the heart of everything we do at Inventus is a commitment to help bring life-changing treatments to patients faster.”
Bennett is the second appointment to the Inventus advisory board – he joins Stacy Hurt, chief patient officer at Parexel, who was welcomed as a Board Adviser in the summer. Parexel is a global clinical development partner. Hurt leads efforts to integrate patient perspectives into drug development and healthcare at their earliest stages. Hurt has more than two decades of leadership experience in the pharmaceutical space. She has worked for GlaxoSmithKline, Transdermal Therapeutics and Colon Cancer Coalition across sales, training and development and has over a decade of experience in patient advocacy.
Steve Sanghera, CEO and Co-Founder of Inventus, said: “I am delighted to announce the exceptional appointment of Mark Bennett to the Inventus Board. Mark brings world class technology leadership and knowledge which will be instrumental in guiding our journey as we navigate how AI will shape and influence clinical trials. Mark’s appointment reflects the continuous growth of Inventus within the industry. Together with Stacy, the expertise that we now have at Inventus also demonstrates our commitment to building a business that focuses on technological excellence and the patients which sit at the heart of a clinical trial.” ...Read more
Inventus, the only company in the world dedicated to creating purpose-built devices and technology solutions exclusively for clinical trials, has made a key appointment from Google to its advisory board.
Mark Bennett, a Vice President at Google, will be working with Inventus in the capacity of Board Adviser.
Bennett has more than two decades in senior leadership roles at companies including Microsoft, Sainsbury’s & Tesco.
He is currently Google’s Vice President of Knowledge & Information Partnerships for the EMEA region, leading product partnerships for Search, Gemini, Maps, Commerce, Research and Ads .
Bennett has spent more than 10 years in Google Partnerships across a range of teams including Knowledge & Information, Android, Google Hardware and Google Play.
Bennett’s previous roles at Google include VP for Platforms and Devices Partnerships for the APAC region and Vice President for Google’s Global Android Partnerships.
Bennett said he was excited to support Inventus - known for its innovative and industry leading clinical trial solutions - to help map out its next phase of growth.
He said: “I’m delighted to be advising the board at Inventus. I’m impressed by the growth and strategy of the company and am looking forward to helping them accelerate that trajectory. I’ve been intrigued by the biomedical sciences sector for some time and seen how AI is an increasingly important factor for the industry. I’ll be advising Inventus on how technology can be harnessed to enhance the efficiency, effectiveness and overall impact of clinical trials, helping bring better treatments to patients faster.”
Bennett is the second key appointment from Google at Inventus in recent months.
Earlier this year, Jon French, Managing Director of Google’s Android Global Business, was appointed Group Managing Director at Inventus.
Commenting on Bennett’s new role, French said: “I could not be more excited to welcome Mark to the Inventus advisory board. I know personally what an incredible leader Mark is. His expertise and perspective will be tremendous assets to our business.
“As Inventus enters its next phase of growth, his experience, judgement and strategic vision will help shape our direction and strengthen our ability to achieve our long-term ambitions. At the heart of everything we do at Inventus is a commitment to help bring life-changing treatments to patients faster.”
Bennett is the second appointment to the Inventus advisory board – he joins Stacy Hurt, chief patient officer at Parexel, who was welcomed as a Board Adviser in the summer. Parexel is a global clinical development partner. Hurt leads efforts to integrate patient perspectives into drug development and healthcare at their earliest stages. Hurt has more than two decades of leadership experience in the pharmaceutical space. She has worked for GlaxoSmithKline, Transdermal Therapeutics and Colon Cancer Coalition across sales, training and development and has over a decade of experience in patient advocacy.
Steve Sanghera, CEO and Co-Founder of Inventus, said: “I am delighted to announce the exceptional appointment of Mark Bennett to the Inventus Board. Mark brings world class technology leadership and knowledge which will be instrumental in guiding our journey as we navigate how AI will shape and influence clinical trials. Mark’s appointment reflects the continuous growth of Inventus within the industry. Together with Stacy, the expertise that we now have at Inventus also demonstrates our commitment to building a business that focuses on technological excellence and the patients which sit at the heart of a clinical trial.” ...Read more
Cell therapy product development is becoming more segmented as autologous and allogeneic products place different demands on design, manufacturing and commercialization. Developers can no longer discuss the sector as one uniform category. Product strategy depends heavily on whether cells come from the patient or from a donor source.
Autologous therapies are often built around individualized production. A patient’s own cells are collected, processed and returned as a therapy. This model can create a strong biological fit, but it also places pressure on scheduling, chain of identity, release timelines and site coordination. Every patient-specific batch becomes both a treatment and a manufacturing event.
Allogeneic therapies take a different approach. Instead of using each patient's own cells, they rely on donor-derived or engineered cells that can be produced in larger batches and supplied to more patients. This model has the potential to improve access and make therapies more widely available, provided quality, immune compatibility and long-term performance are carefully managed. At the same time, it brings its own set of challenges, including how cells are sourced, how consistently they can be expanded during manufacturing, how they are stored and how different patients may respond to the treatment.
Industry analysis from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s Patheon unit notes that autologous therapies require individualized handling because each treatment is tailored to a patient’s cells, while allogeneic therapies must ensure consistent quality and address immune compatibility across recipients.
These differences influence product development from the very beginning. For autologous therapies, developers often concentrate on coordinating the entire vein-to-vein process, including logistics, site readiness, rapid release testing and making sure each patient's cells move through the system efficiently. Developers of allogeneic therapies face a different set of priorities, with greater attention on master cell banks, consistency between production batches, inventory management and large-scale quality control. Each approach comes with its own operational challenges, costs and risks that need to be managed throughout development.
Manufacturing partners are therefore becoming more specialized. A partner supporting allogeneic production may need scale-up expertise and robust batch release processes. Developers must choose partners based on model fit, not general cell therapy experience alone.
Digital systems are becoming important in both pathways. Developers need data continuity from cell collection through manufacturing and administration. Gaps in records can create delays and weaken confidence. Better data handling can support quality review and long-term learning across batches or patient cases.
The future of cell therapy product development will likely involve both models advancing in parallel. Autologous and allogeneic approaches solve different problems and face different barriers.
The companies best positioned will be those that align biology, manufacturing design, clinical planning and commercial delivery around the specific therapy model they are building. ...Read more
