Open AccessThe NTD Supply Chain Forum—Strengthening the backbone of NTD programs
Author(s) -
Ashley A. Souza,
Catherine Holloway,
Tijana Williams
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
plos neglected tropical diseases
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.99
H-Index - 135
eISSN - 1935-2735
pISSN - 1935-2727
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pntd.0008818
Subject(s) - general partnership , supply chain , business , donation , neglected tropical diseases , public–private partnership , public health , medicine , finance , political science , marketing , law , nursing
Global programs targeting 5 preventive chemotherapy neglected tropical diseases (PC-NTDs) have scaled up rapidly in recent decades due, in large part, to the generous drug donations from 6 pharmaceutical companies—Eisai; Johnson & Johnson (J&J); GlaxoSmithKline (GSK); Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, New Jersey, United States of America (MSD); Merck KgaA; and Pfizer. Today, the scale of the PC-NTD drug donation programs is staggering. Nearly 15 billion tablets have been manufactured, packaged, shipped, and distributed in order to reach the people in need. The supply chains established to support such massive operations are enormously complex. Here, we describe a unique public–private partnership that was formed to bring together supply chain expertise to overcome the critical challenges associated with such large-scale production and delivery of donated pharmaceutical products.