ShortMeds Aligned with World Health Organization Guidelines Regarding Short-Dated Drug Donations and Pharmaceutical Company Needs
The WHO has established guidelines to prevent unsolicited, unwanted and unannounced drug dontations. One such guideline states that drug companies should not donate products with less than 12-months dating. ShortMeds provides a supplemental online sales channel to help companies unload products with less than 12-months dating.
(PRWEB) May 19, 2005
The World Health Organization (WHO) has established guidelines for donating drugs to countries in need. The twelve guidelines are listed below, but the one guideline that is the most problematic for pharmaceutical companies is as follows: “After arrival in the recipient country, all donated drugs should have a remaining shelf-life of at least one-year.” This guideline was established because of logistical problems in many recipient countries. There are limited possibilities for immediate distribution, and it may take as long as six to nine months before drugs reach dispensing sites.
As a consequence, pharmaceutical companies have to perform a careful balancing act when it comes to donating their drugs to countries in need. Most of their products have 24-month expiration periods, but most major wholesalers wonÂ’t buy products with less than 12-month expiration periods. Therefore, pharmaceutical companies need to sell their products within 12 months and donate or destroy the remaining short-dated inventory, if they canÂ’t sell it. Some companies try to sell this inventory to specific customers, but the financial incentives involved usually prevent their sales representatives from doing so. The quantities and prices needed to sell these products are simply to low. Some companies donÂ’t exactly comply with the WHO guidelines and donate products with less than one-year shelf-life remaining. They are influenced by the tax breaks they can realize through donations. Currently, they can write off 2 times the productÂ’s cost when they donate it. But this practice is simply not ethical. The WHO has completed several audits in recipient countries, and found that 65% of donated drugs were due to expire in less than a year from the date of donation.
Another option for pharmaceutical companies is to post their short-dated inventories with an online service that can reach hundreds of licensed pharmaceutical buyers with little effort or cost. One such service is ShortMeds (www. shortmeds. com). ShortMeds posts short-dated inventories on its site and immediately alerts over 250 buyers from healthcare distributors, chain drug stores, mail order companies, independent pharmacies, long-term care pharmacy providers, hospitals and federal facility providers. There is a small administration fee for posting products, but users report returns on investment of up to 2000%. This economical sales channel frees up the companyÂ’s sales force, so they can focus on higher priorities. Plus, it helps pharmaceutical companies maximize distribution without violating the WHO drug donation guidelines.
The WHO guidelines are listed below. They are meant to prevent unsolicited, unwanted and unannounced donations. For more information on these guidelines, visit www. who. int/en (http://www. who. int/en).
1. All drug donations should be based on an expressed need and be relevant to the disease pattern in the recipient country.
2. All donated drugs or their generic equivalents should be approved for use in the recipient country and appear on the national list of essential drugs, or, if a national list is not available, on the WHO Model List of Essential Drugs, unless specifically requested otherwise by the recipient.
3. The presentation, strength and formulation of donated drugs should, as much as possible, be similar to those commonly used in the recipient country.
4. All donated drugs should be obtained from a reliable source and comply with quality standards in both donor and recipient country. The WHO Certification Scheme on the Quality of Pharmaceutical Products Moving in International Commerce 51 should be used.
5. No drugs should be donated that have been issued to patients and then returned to a pharmacy or elsewhere, or were given to health professionals as free samples.
6. After arrival in the recipient country, all donated drugs should have a remaining shelf-life of at least one-year.
7. All drugs should be labeled in a language that is easily understood by health professionals in the recipient country. The label on each individual container should at least contain the generic name, batch number, dosage form, strength, name of manufacturer, quantity in the container, storage conditions and expiry date.
8. As much as possible, donated drugs should be presented in larger quantity units and hospital packs.
9. All drug donations should be packed in accordance with international shipping regulations, and be accompanied by a detailed packing list which specifies the contents of each numbered carton by generic name, dosage form, quantity, batch number, expiry date, volume, weight and any special storage conditions. The weight per carton should not exceed 50 kg. Drugs should not be mixed with other supplies in the same carton.
10. Recipients should be informed of all drug donations that are being considered, prepared or actually on their way.
11. In the recipient country, the declared value of a drug donation should be based upon the wholesale price of its generic equivalent in the recipient country, or, if such information is not available, on the wholesale world-market price for its generic equivalent.
12. Costs of international and local transport, warehousing, port clearance and appropriate storage and handling should be paid by the donor agency, unless specifically agreed otherwise with the recipient in advance.
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