Biosimilar Supply Chain Management

Overview

Managing supply reliability for biosimilars requires balancing forecast volatility, long CMO lead times, multi-stage inventory positioning, cold-chain logistics, and regulatory release timelines in import markets such as the EU. Biosimilar manufacturers must decide at which stage to hold inventory — raw materials, drug substance, or bright stock — to balance working capital against supply flexibility, with each tier offering different response times against volatile commercial forecasts. Biosimilar patient accessibility has a critical temporal dimension beyond geography: earlier availability allows patients to receive innovative therapies at stage one rather than stage four disease, which represents the real impact of biosimilar penetration beyond just geographic price access. (Segment 4 (15:00-20:00))