Author: Admin

06/04/2017

Introducing Our New Brand

ASC has been providing support to the pharmaceutical logistics industry since 2011, and our services have expanded and developed to meet the changing needs of stakeholders. As such, we felt that our original branding no longer represented the entire scope of what we do. So, we decided to embark on a rebrand.

We carefully selected a brand communications company and over the course of 2 months we worked together to develop a unique voice that truly defined who we are. The experience was insightful and gave us chance to reflect upon our services and the strategic direction of ASC. The next stage was an internal role out before launching to the external world; we hope that you like it as much as we do.

Let us know what you think in the comments below, or get in touch with us via LinkedIn or Twitter – we’d love to hear from you.

06/04/2017

ASC to Present at PCSC Annual Education Summit 2017

In just a few short days, our CEO Amy Shortman and COO Henry Moran will be heading to the US ready for the PCSC Annual Education Summit 2017. This event, which brings together some of the world’s leading experts in supply chain security, is being held in New Jersey on 11th – 13th April, and has a specific focus on Pharmaceutical Logistics.

Amy and Henry will be presenting a session on Good Distribution Practice (GDP) and supply chain security on the second day of the summit, sharing their specialist knowledge in these areas and advice on potential benefits of combining GDP with (SVA) Supply Chain Vulnerability Assessments. Our video, created last year to offer an introduction to the importance of GDP, will also be shown at the conference.

If you’re heading to the PCSC Conference as well, do get in touch with us either via the comments below or on Twitter, so that we know to look out for you there.

If you want to know more about the Pharmaceutical Cargo Security Coalition (PCSC), which has organised the Annual Education Summit, you can do so here.

07/02/2017

Feedback from the IQPC Temperature Controlled Logistics Conference 2017

ASC were delighted to be part of this year’s IQPC Temperature Controlled Logistics Conference 2017. Hosted for the first time in London, the stage was set within the historic London dockland at ExCel. Our CEO Amy Shortman was honoured to be Chairwoman for the conference, saying, “IQPC believe that this is the first time this conference has been Chaired by a woman and I am thrilled to take part”.

Amy’s opening remarks as Chairwoman drew parallels between the Historic Docklands and the challenges we find ourselves dealing with today. The Docklands, which were once a major part of the supply chain, are no longer used since containerized sea freight needs larger vessels and in turn deep sea docks. Similar changes in the way we handle freight can be seen today, with greater regulatory pressure creating more complex supply chains and sensitive products increasing the need for greater emphasis on temperature controlled logistics and supply chain security.

As the conference progressed, a key theme began to emerge, that of the need for greater collaboration combined with outsourcing of key activities to those with the best skills and expertise. Pharmaceutical companies are slowly realising the cost and strategic benefits of doing so whilst focusing on their own strengths.

The modal shift from air to ocean was another trend highlighted at the conference, with more companies altering their stock and inventory management to accommodate the longer supply chains involved with sea freight. Technology was abundant and the continuing development of cloud based temperature monitoring systems demonstrated how the data can be utilised for continual improvements.

ASC’s Henry Moran and Amy Shortman jointly presented on Key Considerations for Supply Chain Security for Temperature Sensitive Medicinal Products, API’s and Excipients. Their message was that whilst adhering to Good Distribution Practice (GDP) is imperative, there should be equal importance placed upon the Falsified Medicines Directive. This helps ensure that counterfeit materials don’t enter the legal supply chain, that products are not tampered with, and that supply chains protect products from theft for sale on the black market.

Henry Moran, COO stated “The sharing of case studies and best practice was exemplary and it is testament to the industry as a whole and IQPC specifically that an educational approach was taken in development of the two days”.

For a more in depth report please read the official IQPC report.

12/12/2016

Introducing our new Associate – Jamie French

We are delighted to welcome a new Associate to our team – Jamie French.

Jamie brings with him a wealth of experience within the bioscience logistics industry, and has nurtured particular experience in auditing, classification and handling of dangerous goods and controlled substances, cool chain management, clinical trials logistics, and training design and delivery. To find out more about his specific career background, check out his bio on our team page.

We know that Jamie will add great value to our team and we look forward to working with him as we move into 2017.

05/12/2016

IQPC Temperature Controlled Logistics Conference 2017

We are delighted to announce that ASC Associates will not only be speaking at the 16th Annual Temperature Controlled Logistics Conference in 2017, our CEO Amy Shortman will also be chairing the conference. Amy is honoured to have been asked to chair the event, which is being organised by the International Quality and Productivity Center (IQPC), and will run from 30th January to the 2nd February at ExCel in London.

The conference, now in its 16th year, brings together expert speakers and the latest innovations in the pharmaceutical supply chain, to provide excellent opportunities to expand your knowledge and network with others within the industry.

According to the conference’s website, delegates can look forward to:

60 expert speakers
40 ground breaking sessions
6 streams that allow you to personalise your agenda
60 exhibitors, and
24 hours of networking,

As well as chairing the conference, our CEO Amy Shortman will be joined by our COO, Henry Moran, to lead a session on the first day entitled “An Approach to Global Supply Chain Security in the Pharmaceutical Industry“. Supply Chain Security is something that we at ASC are hugely passionate about, and we cannot wait to share our knowledge and expertise in this area at the event.

Amy and Henry hope to meet with as many people as possible throughout the event. If you have been considering attending a conference next year, do check out the website for more details. And if you do decide to attend, please feel free to use the discount code below. We hope to see you there.

01/12/2016

Charitable Giving in lieu of Corporate Gifts

On a bitterly cold 1st December, ASC’s CEO Amy Shortman & COO Henry Moran visited Wintercomfort for the Homeless in Cambridge city. They were shown around by the Director, Sarah Halls, who provided a guided tour of the facilities and explained about the services they offer. These include: hot meals; laundry facilities and dry clean clothes; training and support; counselling; and an apprentice scheme. All of these have offered a way back to employment, dignity and self-respect for the Service Users.

It is clear to see the impact that Wintercomfort has in supporting the homeless, who are referred to as “Service Users”. An impressive 44% of all staff employed at the centre have previously been Service Users and so have first-hand experience of being homeless. These and many other Service Users have managed to piece back their lives, thanks to the inspiring mixture of hope and practical support offered by the charity to those who are experiencing tough times.

The level of commitment to the cause is striking; this is not a place where they “just about manage” to meet the needs of the Service Users. Amy and Henry were amazed to hear that the wonderful kitchen they were shown around has a 5* Hygiene rating! In fact it is so good they even offer corporate hospitality and catering alongside serving hot meals to the homeless.

ASC has decided that this year we would like thank all of our clients and supporters in writing, whilst making a donation to a worthwhile cause rather than sending out corporate gifts. Amy Shortman (CEO) said:

“I hope that our clients support our decision to support a charity, by providing them with funds to purchase underwear, personal hygiene products, and food for those in need. This is what Christmas is all about.”

“Homelessness has risen 54% in the UK since 2010, and 1 in 3 families are just one monthly pay packet away from losing their homes”

It was an absolute pleasure for Amy and Henry to visit Wintercomfort and see exactly how our donation will help. The donation was made during their visit.

With thanks to our clients and supporters for an amazing year, which has enabled us to consider giving to a charitable cause this Christmas. We hope you all have a wonderful festive period and look forward to working with your further in 2017.

25/11/2016

Celebrating Our First Year as ASC Associates Ltd

On 24th November 2015 ASC officially became a limited company known as ASC Associates. Our CEO, Amy Shortman, initially launched the company in 2011, but decided to expand it last year to better reflect the successful partnerships being developed through our work with both clients and associates.

This past year has been an incredible one for us at ASC Associates. We have: expanded our team of experts; embarked on a strategic alliance with Socrates; and worked with a wide range of clients, supporting them to achieve excellence throughout the supply chain. We have also had the pleasure of attending several conferences, and seen our expert opinion published within the industry press.

All of this has inspired us to explore even more ways of connecting with others within the supply chain industry. For instance, you can now find regular updates on the news page of our site, or by following Amy Shortman and Henry Moran on LinkedIn. We also have big plans for further development over the coming year, including our Online Training, which is due to be launched at the start of 2017. We are hugely passionate about sharing knowledge and resources, and cannot wait to build even more connections over the next 12 months.

Of course all of these achievements would not have been possible without our fantastic associates and clients, and so we would like to take this opportunity to thank all of those who have worked with us and supported us on this journey. It has been wonderful working with you and we look forward to many more years of collaborating with you. We value each and every one of you and will continue to strive to offer you excellence in all that we do.

01/11/2016

Counterfeit Drugs and the Logistics Industry

Earlier this week the BBC reported that diet pills containing the potentially lethal chemical 2,4-Dinitrophenol (DNP) remain available for sale online, despite a major crackdown by the government and regulatory bodies. According to the Food Standards Agency, around 19 websites were shut down last year. However an investigation led by the BBC found multiple sites on the dark web selling products containing the banned drug.

DNP is an industrial chemical licensed for commercial use, but not for human consumption. And the reason for this is clear: DNP has been linked to multiple deaths. An article published by the Journal of Medical Toxicology in 2011 found 62 deaths that could be attributed to DNP since the turn of the twentieth century. Yet despite knowledge of DNP’s potential to cause severe adverse reactions, there have been numerous further fatalities over the past five years.

It is clear that even though DNP is not licensed for medicinal use, diet pills containing it remain attractive to consumers looking to lose weight. Recent casualties have included: a medical student in 2012; a bodybuilder (also in 2012); and a 21 year old (2015) who was believed to have known the risk but thought being slim was worth it. This means that even though diet pills containing DNP remain illegal, as long as supply and demand exists counterfeit drugs will continue to be a problem.

Which is why regulation and compliance within the Logistics Industry is so vital. It is crucial that every single person within the Supply Chain understands the importance of working within strict guidelines to ensure the quality and safety of each product. It may be easy to think that the odd slip won’t matter, but the reality is that the products we ship could prove to be fatal if we don’t validate their source and maintain robust procedures throughout the entire Supply Chain.

And this goes beyond management setting up Quality Assurance and SOPs: training needs to be provided for all workers, so that they understand exactly why the procedures they follow have been developed and what their individual role entails. By equipping all staff with the knowledge and skills to do this, we automatically reduce the risk of counterfeit drugs entering the Supply Chain. And when facing an illegal drug such as DNP, it is clear to see just how important this is.

We offer a range of training options to assist you in providing your staff with the skills and knowledge they need. Please contact us for further information, including to find out more about our online training courses (coming soon).

29/09/2016

The Importance of Supply Chain Security: Counterfeit Drugs

A large part of what we do at ASC Associates is supporting key stakeholders throughout the supply chain to maximise efficiency and compliance, in order to maintain product integrity and ensure the safety of the consumers. And a major aspect of this is recognising the threat of counterfeit drugs, and developing ways to secure the supply chain against this threat.

The sheer scale of the counterfeit drugs market was demonstrated recently when police in Poland shut down an illegal factory near the city of Bydgoszcz which was capable of producing millions of counterfeit medications. Within the raid, police found 100,000 counterfeit erectile dysfunction pills, alongside 430,000 vials of steroids, worth around $4.4million. However in a statement issued by the Central Bureau of Investigations in Poland (CBSP) it was recorded that the illegal unit was capable of producing much more than this.

The police managed to seize equipment that would create a whole pharma production line, including: mixers, tablet presses, blister packs, and screen printers, making it almost impossible to distinguish the counterfeit drugs from the real ones. A complex supply chain that included shipment to the UK was uncovered within the raid, and it is understood that the majority of these drugs would have been sold over the internet.

It is important to remember that the problem with counterfeit drugs goes beyond the financial implications of illegal reproductions. There are no regulations governing the production of counterfeit drugs, meaning that some may not contain even a trace of the active ingredient. And even when the medications produced do contain the active ingredient, it is often in an insufficient amount, making them ineffective and potentially dangerous as they can contribute to the development of drug-resistant strains of life-threatening diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis. People die every single day because of counterfeit drugs, and that is unacceptable.

So what can we do? Well, we need to be proactive in ensuring that we are doing everything we possibly can to ensure the integrity of the supply chain. By reducing the risk of counterfeit drugs entering the supply chain, we reduce the risk to the consumer. This can be done through a combination of a thorough audit of the entire supply chain, robust planning and quality managements systems, and adequate and appropriate training for every member of staff.

We also need to be aware of changes to regulations within the industry, such as the new Delegated Regulation (EU2016/161) published recently by the European Parliament and Council to supplement the Falsified Medicines Directive. This will come into effect by 2019 and aims to introduce two new safety features – a unique identifier that can be scanned at various points along the supply chain, and tamper evident features on the packaging.

Such safety features have already been introduced and trialled, thanks to tech start-ups, and these have shown real promise. However, as this article on the BBC shows, the tech start-ups cannot solve the problem alone – for these safety measures to have any real effect they have to be embraced by us all.

We offer Supply Chain Security Audits and can advise you on the best practices for Logistics and Supply Chain Security. If you would like to know more about our services, please contact us to discuss your requirements.

23/09/2016

Compliance to Regulations is Critical – Amazon Fined £65,000 for Shipping Dangerous Goods

The news today that Amazon has been fined £65,000 for shipping dangerous goods highlights just how critical it is that companies remain aware of the relevant regulations associated with any shipments they organise or undertake, and that all cargo is compliant to those regulations.

The case against Amazon was made by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) in relation to the Air Navigation (Dangerous Goods) Regulations 2002 and relates specifically to Amazon’s attempts to ship both lithium-ion batteries and flammable aerosols on flights in and outside of the UK between November 2013 and June 2015. These items are included in international and domestic restrictions due to their potential to become a flight safety risk.

It is important to remain aware of changes to all regulations relevant to your cargo, to ensure that shipments remain compliant at all times. A change relevant to this case happened as recently as February 2016, when the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) banned shipments of Lithium-ion batteries as cargo on passenger planes.

The barrister acting on behalf of Amazon, Stephen Spence, told the court that the issue was caused by “misclassification” of items due to “individual human error”. This only highlights how crucial it is that every single member of a company’s team is aware of the regulations and how to ensure all shipments remain compliant.

Compliance to regulations is absolutely critical in our industry, especially when noncompliance can have potentially catastrophic consequences, such as in the case of lithium-ion batteries which could overheat, causing burns, fire, and even explosions. Ensuring that products are classified, packaged, and labelled with the correct documentation is paramount. If in doubt, check, check and double check.

If you want to know more about the Amazon case, this article in the Financial Times provides a lot of detail. And if you want to know more about regulations specific to shipments of lithium-ion batteries, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) have produced a range of resources covering everything you need to know.

Finally, if you need help assessing your own supply chain for compliance, please get in touch with us to discuss your needs.