The Amazonification Effect
How patient centricity is changing pharma logistics
Precision medicine is precisely the future of healthcare. By stratifying patients based on genomic and phenotypic variations, it addresses the diverse ways individuals respond to treatments. Personalized medicines accounted for 38% of new FDA drug approvals in 2023, with oncology leading the charge. Unlike traditional mass-market drugs, personalized therapies require patient-specific formulations, dosages, packaging and delivery. They are high-value, temperature-sensitive products that are transforming the industry from the lab up. “These therapies are driving direct-to-X models, including direct to patients, hospitals and pharmacies”, explained Raphaël Chin-Fo-Sieeuw, vice president of life sciences and healthcare Americas at DHL.
This evolution demands a radical shift in supply chain design. Logistics must now accommodate not only the stringent cold chain requirements of these advanced therapies but also the increasingly consumer-like expectations of patients. The convergence of personalization and patient centricity is creating unprecedented demands—but also unprecedented innovation—in pharma logistics.
Delivering precision
For many years, pharma followed a one-size-fits-all approach to medication. Today, that paradigm is shifting rapidly toward specialty pharmaceuticals and biologics, said Chin-Fo-Sieeuw: “Pharmaceutical companies are increasing their focus on biopharma and specialty pharma, with many divesting from consumer healthcare and generics businesses.”
In the US, the market for personalized medicine is expected to expand from US$179.66 billion in 2024 to US$400.46 billion by 2034. Biologics and cell and gene therapies underpin the personalization market. “Cell and gene therapies are having a significant impact on traditional pharma logistics,” said Fabrice Panza, manager of global cool chain solutions at Etihad Cargo. “These therapies influence packaging requirements, physical and documentation flows, and the capacity needed to track highly valuable products,” Panza continued.
They also require cold storage solutions, which has led to the growth of the segment: “The cold chain logistics industry is growing at over 25% per year due to the increasing number of temperature-sensitive products coming to market,” explained Richard Etll, CEO and co-founder of Skycell.
Regulations are tightening, and efficacy standards are becoming more demanding. This adds further pressure to logistics providers to deliver at higher standards—faster, safer and smarter. “The industry must invest in specialized infrastructure to handle the evolving supply chain needs, especially for small, time-sensitive shipments like personalized medicine with short shelf lives,” said Trevor Caswell, chair of Pharma.Aero, a collaboration platform bringing together cargo firms and life sciences companies.
To address these challenges, logistics companies are deploying digital technologies and artificial intelligence at scale. Both Etihad Cargo and SkyCell partnered with Validaide, an advanced digital platform for pharma lane management, to enhance the transparency and efficiency of their pharmaceutical supply chains. Etihad Cargo aimed to streamline its cold chain operations, while SkyCell leveraged the partnership to further validate its container solutions and ensure compliance with global pharma logistics standards.
SkyCell is also launching an AI-driven monitoring tool in partnership with Microsoft to oversee shipments in real time. “Our AI agent monitors shipments automatically, using machine learning to help prevent damage that could affect shelf life or efficacy,” explained Etll.
This innovation is vital as personalized medicine rises in prominence. Every lost or damaged pallet can mean millions of dollars in loss—not to mention potential delays in treatment for patients with life-threatening conditions.
Fusing personalized medicine and patient centricity
In the traditional model, the patient is at the end of the supply chain, following discovery, development, production and distribution of prescription drugs. That model is rapidly being upended. Today’s patients expect more—and they are getting it. 71% of consumers expect companies to deliver personalized interactions, research from McKinsey showed. While this insight applies broadly to consumer markets, it increasingly applies in healthcare too. An Accenture survey revealed that patients want to be valued as consumers and receive the same level of responsiveness, attention and convenience from healthcare providers that they receive from prominent consumer brands.
One company has arguably set the standard for this kind of responsiveness: Amazon. Now, Amazon is turning its attention to healthcare. “Amazon is not just acquiring companies, but entire ecosystems—buying hospitals, pharmacies, logistics and even aircraft. This model of integration and patient-centeredness is the future of healthcare, and Amazon’s expertise in this approach is reshaping the industry,” said Frank Van Gelder, secretary general of Pharma.Aero.
Amazon’s foray into healthcare started in 2018 in a partnership with Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase to create a nonprofit company to examine ways to improve US employee satisfaction in healthcare while reducing costs. “The healthcare system is complex, and we enter into this challenge open-eyed about the degree of difficulty,” Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and ex-CEO stated in the 2018 press release. “Hard as it might be, reducing healthcare’s burden on the economy while improving outcomes for employees and their families would be worth the effort. Success is going to require talented experts, a beginner’s mind, and a long-term orientation.” The Amazonification of healthcare is not just about speed and convenience—it is about placing the patient at the heart of every decision. As personalized medicine continues to grow, logistics will become an even more strategic function within the pharmaceutical industry.
Article header image courtesy of Skycell