News
Investing in Resilience: Strengthening the UK’s Medicine Supply Chain
London, 06 February 2025: The HDA welcomes this week’s publication of The House of Lords Public Services Committee report on medicines security which outlines a clear and urgent case for strengthening the resilience of the UK’s medicines supply chain to better support the nation’s health.
The Committee’s report rightly recognises the UK medicine supply chain’s increasing vulnerability to disruption driven in part by reliance on global, and in some instances, single source supply chains, changing geopolitical conditions and pressures on domestic systems.
At HDA UK, we welcome the Committee’s recommendations on these critical issues, many of which HDA has long been advocating for and we remain committed to working with the Government and our industry partners to ensure patients have access to the right medicine, in the right place, at the right time.
To address these challenges, the HDA would welcome the Government prioritising several of the report’s specific recommendations to enact significant improvements:
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Acceleration of the digitisation of the medicine supply chain, including mandating 2D barcodes to support effective stock management.
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Tackling inspection and licensing backlogs for Controlled Drugs premises, with a review of responsibilities if no progress is made within six months.
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Mandating greater information sharing regarding stock levels so that the Department of Health can better judge demand and shortage risks.
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Improving communications regarding shortages by providing information in a more timely manner to pharmacies and hospitals.
Commenting on the report’s publication and recommendations, HDA Executive Director, Martin Sawer noted:
“The HDA welcomes the House of Lords Public Services Committee report and recommendations many of which the HDA supports. As this comprehensive inquiry concluded: ‘The Government has to understand the value of resilience and decide how much it is willing to work with industry to achieve this.’ Medicines supply should be considered as national critical infrastructure, and this report backs this up”.
