1 MAY 2020 – The National Pharmaceutical Services Association (NPSA) – the peak body representing Australia’s CSO wholesalers – has reported further easing in demand for medicines, allowing replenishment of stock and improvement across the supply chain as a whole.
While there remain shortages of some products and concerns about import freight due to COVID-19, the past week has seen encouraging signs. All stakeholders in the supply chain are working hard together to manage issues as they arise.
NPSA firmly endorses recent comments from pharmaceutical industry peak body Medicines Australia on the need for continued and transparent collaboration to support Australia’s medicines supplies. We share a commitment to work together to support government efforts, manage supply chain difficulties and reduce community concern about medicine access during COVID-19.
This collaboration, for example, has seen more than one million flu vaccine doses supplied to community pharmacy in the last six weeks. This is more than all the doses supplied to community pharmacy for the entire 2019 season.
To meet increased community demand the Federal Government has sourced another three million vaccines and the supply of these doses is expected to be available to the health sector over May and June.
NPSA members stand ready to rapidly distribute community pharmacy’s share of the three million additional flu vaccines and this will be done without impact on the storage or delivery of other cold chain medicines.
The NPSA’s ability to deliver in this regard is due to members sustained investment in national distribution centres across Australia. NPSA members have more than 22,000 cubic meters of cold chain storage capacity which is comfortably meeting the increased logistics demands to store and distribute flu vaccines during COVID-19.
Contact: Myles Wallace, Michels Warren PR, 0432 866 094
The National Pharmaceutical Services Association represents CSO* wholesalers Australian Pharmaceutical Industries, National Pharmacies, Sigma Healthcare and Symbion. NPSA members are part of Australia’s Critical National Infrastructure. 2 *Community Service Obligation Wholesalers, on behalf of the Australian Government, supply around 300m PBS medicines per year to Australians regardless of where they reside within 24 hours of ordering.