Parallel import
Wogen Pharm supplies its customers with pharmaceuticals in several countries every year, providing pharmacies, hospitals and wholesalers with a very wide selection of high-quality pharmaceuticals. Our customers are satisfied that we are able to supply pharmaceuticals at more affordable prices and attractive sales conditions. These benefits provide more affordable access to pharmaceuticals for everyone. Every day we work to source pharmaceuticals for you from all over the world at the best available prices to deliver them to you. This is a practice commonly known as parallel importing.
PHARMACEUTICALS AT MORE AFFORDABLE PRICES
What is parallel import?
Parallel import, or parallel distribution and parallel trade, is the practice of importing original pharmaceuticals from one EU country, repackaging these pharmaceuticals and reselling them at a lower price in one’s own or another EU country. Other terms such as parallel distribution and parallel trading are sometimes used, but they all refer to more or less the same practice.
Parallel imports have existed in the pharmaceutical industry for over 40 years. Currently, the total parallel import market of medicines exceeds multibillion euros in value. Market research data show that the majority of parallel imported pharmaceuticals are purchased in low-income countries, but the distribution of supply across EU countries covers a broad list of both high- and middle-income countries. The original product is same to parallel imported medicine. The act of repackaging is the only distinction made by parallel import.
So that the pharmaceuticals correspond with local regulations, the parallel importer will purchase the original pharmaceutical in one EU country and repackage the pharmaceuticals in a new package with printing and usage instructions in the language of the target market. The end customer in the target audience receives the medications after that. This means that the pharmaceutical is actually exactly the same pharmaceutical as the original manufacturer. The only difference is in the packaging.
The process behind parallel import
The parallel import of pharmaceuticals is based on the EU’s internal free-medicine agreement. This allows Wogen Pharm to obtain original pharmaceuticals from all around the EU and ship them to a facility for repackaging. Here, the pharmaceuticals go through in-depth quality checks before being repackaged with the original medicine. After then, the pharmaceuticals are sold exclusively to customers all through the EU.
European sourcing:
We monitor and analyze thousands of items every day in an effort to identify customer value, such as lower prices or better availability. The pharmaceutical is then transported to production plants in Latvia after being sourced from EU nations. All of our vendors have been validated and audited.
Incoming pharmaceutical quality assurance:
The medicine goes through a number of quality checks when it arrives at our facility, including Delivery Control Report (DCR) and Falsified Medicines Directive (FMD) verification. The pharmaceutical then passes the second receipt inspection, known as the Medicine Control Report (MCR). Our Quality Assurance (QA) division releases the pharmaceutical, at which point the unpackaging and repackaging processes starts.
Unpacking, making fresh boxes and flyers, and handling FMD:
The pharmaceutical is placed in a brand-new package that was created especially for the target market. Again, the quality is guaranteed by our FMD-handling procedures, which also involve aggregation and decommissioning. Here, a distinctive 2D barcode and an anti-tampering device are applied to the pharmaceutical package to ensure the product’s validity.
Based on the documentation for the products and completed goods, every packed pharmaceutical is examined. Before being released by Qualified Person (QP) to the relevant market, the final good must follow Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) standards, the product’s marketing authorisation, and national requirements.
Providing products to customers:
Assuring proper Good Distribution Practice (GDP) handling and temperature control along the travel, our knowledgeable distributors pick up the repackaged pharmaceutical from our storage facility and deliver it to the clients in the target audience.
The same regulations and standards for quality apply to all parallel importers as they do to original producers.
Parallel importers are required to hold GDP and GMP licenses, as well as an EU/EEA wholesale distribution license, and to submit to periodical inspections and audits.
The highest quality with parallel import
At Wogen Pharm, quality and safety are our main priorities. The appropriate health authorities frequently audit each of our locations. We have a strong Quality Management System, as well as SOPs and Work Instructions that are well-written.
Wogen Pharm strives to a complete approach to quality management in which every employee is aware of and follows the highest standard of quality in every activity.
The falsified medicines directive (FMD) and parallel import
The Falsified Medicines Directive (FMD) is a mechanism designed to guarantee the safety of all pharmaceuticals provided in the EU. In order to lower the risk of fake pharmaceuticals entering the pharmaceutical supply chain and eventually the patients, it ensures controlled handling of the manufacture and trade of medicine. Serialisation is an essential component of FMD. All containers or products are given unique serial numbers through serialisation, making them traceable.The quality of parallel imported medicine is further secured with the implementation of the Falsified Medicines Directive in 2019. To ensure the validity of every pack of medicine and alleviate concerns about falsification, parallel imported pharmaceutical must have a special 2D barcode and anti-tampering mechanisms.
Why parallel import?
Although parallel import provides many pros, the key advantage is unquestionably the cost savings on each pack of pharmaceuticals. Parallel import of pharmaceuticals offers a secure and effective means to increase access to pharmaceuticals that could otherwise be more expensive in a society where healthcare expenses are constantly expanding. Patients, pharmacies, hospitals, and public healthcare systems all gain from lower pharmaceutical costs.
Advantages for patients
Patients have the option of saving money without losing the safety and effectiveness of their treatment by using parallel imported medicine.
Patients gain from getting affordable access to the same product medicine without having to switch to a generic or substitute.
Even with brand-new pharmaceuticals, this is possible. Patients can securely get the most cutting-edge and effective medications at the most competitive prices since parallel importers are subject to the same regulatory and quality criteria as the original manufacturers.
Benefits for hospitals and pharmacies
Hospitals and pharmacies may both have limited finances. A simple and sustainable solution to reduce prices and satisfy necessary quotas without sacrificing quality is to import parallel pharmaceuticals.
Wogen Pharm can deliver a wide selection of medications to thousands of pharmacies and hospitals around Europe because to our qualified and reliable network of authorized suppliers.
Advantages for public health care systems
The healthcare systems in Europe differ from those that are almost completely funded by the government to others that rely mostly on private insurance. They all have one thing in common: as the older population grows, healthcare expenditures are going up.
Many European healthcare payers struggle to keep their costs under control given the current pharmaceutical market structure.Without reducing the range of treatments available to consumers, pharmacies, and hospitals, parallel import offers a means for healthcare payers like insurance companies and governments to dramatically cut healthcare expenditures.
Patients and government healthcare budgets benefit greatly when Wogen Pharm provides pharmaceuticals at a lower cost.