As well as creating a global crisis, COVID-19 has forced us to create something good. A strong spirit of development and teamwork has emerged in the pharmaceutical industry and in our cooperation with the authorities, Anni Svala, Quality Director at Tamro, writes in her blog article.
What does the coronavirus crisis look like from the perspective of pharmaceutical operators? We all must have experienced the surprising and extensive situation as stressful. I don’t think anyone has good things to say about the virus, but I would like to bring attention to the strong cooperation that has emerged in Finland during the crisis.
Cooperation within the Finnish pharmaceutical industry has been innovative, open and effective during the crisis. This phase has proved that people in the pharmaceutical industry know how to collaborate and help others. Our common goal is crystal clear: helping patients and bringing stability to Finnish society.
My background is in the pharmaceutical industry, and during this crisis, I have become even more convinced of the significance of extensive networks. There is always someone with whom you can exchange experiences, thoughts and opinions.
The Finnish Medicines Agency Fimea has provided the various parties with guidelines and instructions openly and clearly. Requests for information, cooperation meetings and the exchange of information abound out of necessity. Cooperation with the pharmaceutical industry has also been excellent. Everyone has the same goal and desire to help – for the benefit of the patient.
This also contributes to our ability to overcome the crisis. After all, success is always about good cooperation and a mutual appreciation of knowledge and skills.
Despite preparations, the unprecedented surge in demand came as a surprise
I have often thought about how effectively the pharmaceutical industry communicates about itself. For example, do people know that we are top experts in anticipation and preparedness?
When Finnish society became fully aware of the coronavirus crisis in March, the pharmaceutical industry had been preparing for the crisis for several months. In our industry, we cannot just wait and see what will happen. We must always have preparedness and contingency plans concerning the supply of vital medication under all circumstances.
When demand for medication at pharmacies grew exponentially after the Finnish Government’s first briefing in March, concerns about the availability of medication began to increase as well. We responded rapidly and made major decisions over a short period of time, listening to other operators in the pharmaceutical industry. With the volumes increasing, we had to temporarily reduce the frequency of non-critical pharmaceutical supply to ensure the availability of vital medication across the country. We increased the number of employees in warehousing and order picking, as well as seeking to keep customers up to date at all times.
The strong cooperation continues
I started as Quality Director at Tamro in December 2019. If I had been asked to explain my job to a layperson back then, I would have said something along these lines:
My job with Finland’s leading pharmaceutical wholesaler is to ensure that medicine supply is appropriate and complies with the statutory requirements; that our employees are highly competent; that our pharmaceuticals are stored safely; and that our deliveries to pharmacies and hospitals from our logistics centers in Tampere and Vantaa run smoothly and appropriately.
Someone said that these first months in my new job must have been an unrelenting stress test. That is true – however, it has also been wonderful to see how our expertise has reached an entirely new level. In exceptional circumstances, people come up with new solutions and processes and gain a deeper understanding of the significance of team spirit. Over a short period of time, we have laid a foundation for further development and created new ideas for the future.
If someone asked me now about my job, I would give them the following answer:
I have two wishes for the time after the coronavirus crisis when life goes back to normal. I hope we will remember to love and appreciate our daily lives – our ordinary lives that we miss so much during exceptional times. I also hope that the strong spirit of development and cooperation that we have now created will continue to prevail in the pharmaceutical industry and in our cooperation with the authorities.
