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10 December, 2010

Intensive Cooperation: Transparent Communication in the Pharma Supply Chain Vital to Patient Safety

An interview with Dr. Najib Sehat,  Head of Regulatory Service at Merck’s KGaA Merck Millipore division and Member of the Rx-360 External Relations Working Group

Wake-up Call – Infant formula laced with melamine, heparin tainted with oversulfated chondroitin sulfate, cough syrup contaminated with diethylene glycol – these scandals didn’t just cause outrage among consumers over the recent years. They have also served as a wake-up call for both suppliers and manufacturers in the pharmaceutical industry and have made apparent the need for companies on both sides to work together to exchange information.

Industry initiatives such as the European Fine Chemicals Group (EFCG) and the International Pharmaceutical Excipient Council (IPEC) as well as a new international pharmaceutical supply chain consortium Rx-360 are dedicated to help to overcome this challenge. Rx-360 was launched in January 2009 with the aim of enhancing the security of the pharmaceutical supply chain and to assure the quality and authenticity of the products moving through the supply chain. Brandi Schuster spoke with Dr. Najib Sehat, Head of Regulatory Service at Merck’s KGaA newly created Merck Millipore division and the company’s Rx-360 representative, about the work the group has done and the inherent problems that exist when it comes to regulating excipients.

Click here to read the entire article.

Special thanks to CHEManager Europe for the opportunity to reprint this article.