DLA Troop Support pharmacists monitor drug quality, inform public health policies

PHILADELPHIA -

A team of pharmacists that procures medication for the Defense Department and federal partners is working to improve pharmaceutical safety and mitigate supply chain risks for globally manufactured drugs

Pharmaceuticals are historically difficult to regulate because they involve raw material suppliers, manufacturers and distributors from multiple nations, said Air Force Lt. Col. Francisco Boral, chief of Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support's Customer Pharmacy Operations Center.

The team recently began a project to better understand supply chain vulnerabilities by cataloging and tracking the source of active pharmaceutical ingredients that makes drugs therapeutically effective. They used Pharmaceutical Provenance Solutions software, which was created through DLA's Small Business Innovation Research program in 2021.

Boral said the project is ongoing and has already shown significant results by yielding supply chain data the agency has used to avoid sourcing and distribution disruptions.

"Originally, we analyzed a small snapshot of drugs DOD is using to understand where they're coming from and determine dependence on foreign countries for sourcing," Boral said.

Some of the first drugs studied were those needed by DOD for the first 30 days of a military operation and the top 1,000 drugs used by DOD beneficiaries through TRICARE.

Pharmaceutical Provenance Solutions software can also now map all 200-plus drugs on the FDA's essential medicine list. DLA plans to extend PPS support to all pandemic and emergency stockpiles. Eventually, the CPOC will partner with the Department of Health and Human Services to support the Strategic National Stockpile.

DLA's longstanding relationships with industry and the ability to recognize future challenges through PPS puts CPOC in a unique position to share information with industry and federal agencies, said Navy CAPT William Kelly, CPOC senior pharmacist. The team works with prime vendors to inform DHA Pharmacy Operations Division, DHA Medical Logistics, the DOD Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee, and others.

"We generate lists of medications that are in critical shortage from the prime vendor, including the drug name, the estimated timeline as indicated by the manufacturer with a date for resolution. We then share the information with all stakeholders to prevent disruptions to the supply chain," he said.

Updating government partners on their work is essential to the development of public health policies that oversee drug supply, Boral added. In 2021, a DOD Inspector General report found that applying measures to alleviate the risks of a pharmaceutical supply disruption would improve the reliability of DOD's pharmaceutical supply chain and lower public health and national security risks.

CPOC used data from its active ingredient analyses in 2023 to contribute to a congressional report detailing risks in DOD's pharmaceutical supply chain. The team worked with the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and provided information that could positively influence national policy, Boral said.

DLA Acquisition Director Matthew R. Beebe testified this spring about active pharmaceutical ingredients at the Senate Armed Services Committee.

"As the provider of critical pharmaceutical products to our nation's warfighters, we are steadfastly committed to working with the department, other federal agencies, and Congress to strengthen our collective ability to identify, mitigate, and prevent risks in the pharmaceutical supply chain," Beebe said.

Army Col. Bruce Argueta, DLA's medical supply chain director, said safeguarding the pharmaceutical supply chain is an essential to the nation's readiness, and Americans who take FDA approved medications benefit from work intended to protect warfighters' health.

"Working with our partners within DHA, DLA is working hard to illuminate the active pharmaceutical ingredients (API)s and their source of origin, to ensure the quality of medication procured for the warfighter, and to help create a resilient DoD Pharmaceutical Supply Chain," he said.

The CPOC was established in 2011 to work with industry to acquire quality medications at lower prices for warfighters.

For their commitment to analyzing active pharmaceutical ingredients, the CPOC team was awarded the DLA Director's Strategic Goals Award for fiscal 2023, fourth quarter. The award recognizes contributions made by teams or individuals toward achieving the goals set forth in the DLA Strategic Plan.

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