Procurement Basics

SCMS Manufacturers Summit Report (June 2011)

An overview of the June 2011 manufacturers' summit in Kuala Lumpur. PFSCM met with representatives of key pharmaceutical manufacturers, wholesalers and donors to align strategies, interests and objectives of pharmaceutical buyers and manufacturers who are transforming the public health commodity marketplace. Read the report to learn about key issues raised at the conference, including registration, pricing, price vs. value and forecasting.

SCMS Technical Brief: "Pooling procurement to reduce costs and ensure quality." (February 2010)

This technical brief discusses that without a well-planned procurement process, HIV/AIDS programs in developing countries risk stockouts, costly emergency purchases and overpurchasing. To leverage economies of scale in procurement, SCMS provides a consolidated pro-curement mechanism. The results are lower prices, increased coordination between suppliers and recipients, and improved product quality.

SCMS FAQ: Vendors and Suppliers

This FAQ provides information on the criteria SCMS follows for choosing suppliers and information needed from suppliers for SCMS to procure products

SCMS FAQ: Procuring commodities through SCMS

This FAQ provides information on SCMS's procurement process and the products we can provide for your HIV/AIDS program.

WHO Report: "Meeting on Procurement of Laboratory Items." (October 2008)

This report covers activities from a meeting jointly organized by the WHO AIDS Medicines and Diagnostics Service HIV Department Diagnostics and Laboratory Technology Essential Health Technologies. The overall objective of the meeting is to find ways for partners to work together in order to improve current process for the procurement of laboratory items.

ARVs

PLOS Medicine: "Global Pharmacovigilance for Antiretroviral Drugs: Overcoming Contrasting Priorities." (July 2011)

This article reports on a meeting of the Forum for Collaborative HIV Research (Forum) which was asked to use its neutral setting for key stakeholders from the United Nations and government agencies, donors, industry, academia, multilateral organizations, and implementers to discuss the creation of a sustainable global pharmacovigilance system for ARVs that would be applicable in RLS. The Forum meeting participants discussed their approaches to establishing an acceptable and sustainable global pharmacovigilance framework for ARVs and how these efforts might be harmonized.

HIV Prevention Trials Network: "HPTN 052 - Groundbreaking trial results confirm HIV treatment prevents transmission of HIV."

WHO and UNAIDS hail results from the HPTN 052 study that shows antiretroviral therapy to be 96% effective in reducing HIV transmission in couples where one partner has HIV

SCMS ARV Order Data Archive

Historical comparisons of ARV purchase orders placed through SCMS and the Partnership for Supply Chain Management System are available to help better determine anticipated need for ARVs based on past demand and future needs.

JAMA Publication: "Use of Generic Antiretroviral Agents and Cost Savings in PEPFAR Treatment Programs." (2010)

SCMS collaborated on this study published in JAMA about the impact of the USFDA tentative approval process on pricing of ARVs in PEPFAR countries. The paper describes how the tentative approval process enabled PEPFAR implementers to purchase generic ARVs at much reduced prices to support the rapid increase in patients under treatment. The paper also draws on evidence from SCMS about how we have been able to drive down the prices of tentatively approved ARVs, saving the USG hundreds of millions of dollars and enabling millions of people living with HIV/AIDS in the developing world to access life-saving treatment.

Medicines Patent Pool Foundation: Patent Status Database for Selected HIV Medicines

This database provides information on the patent status of selected antiretrovirals in a large number of low- and middle-income countries. It enables users to search by country/region and by medicine to obtain information on the key patents relating to each medicine.

US FDA: PEPFAR Approved and Tentatively Approved ARVs

This website provides information on approved and Tentatively Approved Antiretrovirals in Association with the President's Emergency Plan. Information provided includes manufacturing site, drug product, and supplier.

Test Kits

USAID Publication: "HIV/AIDS Rapid Test Kits: Process for USAID Approval and Technical Guidance." (March 2010)

This USAID document outlines the process for approval of HIV/AIDS rapid test kits and related technical guidance.

USAID/DELIVER PROJECT Publication: "Quantification of Health Commodities: HIV/AIDS Test Kit Companion Guide." (June 2009)

The primary focus and purpose of this HIV Test Kit companion guide is to supplement the general guide on Quantification of Health Commodities: A Guide to Forecasting and Supply Planning for Procurement by describing in detail the specific methodology for forecasting consumption of HIV test kits as a critical step in the overall quantification process.

USAID/DELIVER PROJECT Publication: "Guide for Quantifying HIV Tests." (May 2006)

This guide for quantifying HIV tests draws from the collective experience of DELIVER logistics advisors who have been involved in a range of activities to improve management of the supply chains for HIV/AIDS commodities in several countries that are hardest hit by the epidemic. The list of countries includes Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Nepal, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Ukraine, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Nutrition

SCMS Guidelines: "Quality Assurance Requirements for Food by Prescription. "(March 2012)

This guide outlines how new suppliers are required to complete a Request for Information to provide information on product specification (composition, packaging), competitive price, supply capacity, lead time, and registrations in destination countries, QA/QC systems, etc.

SCMS FAQ: Specialized Food Products. (2008)

This FAQ addresses the link between nutrition and HIV/AIDS, and the food products SCMS can procure for HIV/AIDS programs.

SCMS Presentation: "Bringing Nutrition to the Table." (2009)

This presentation provides background and context for food by prescription programs, pitfalls to avoid, strategic planning, challenges and implementation case studies in Ethiopia, Haiti and Tanzania.

Male Circumcision

PLOS Medicine: "Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision: Logistics, Commodities, and Waste Management Requirements for Scale-Up of Services." (November 2011)

This article examines how evidence suggests that reaching and sustaining 80 percent VMMC coverage in five years would avert more than 3.6 million adult HIV infections in the next 15 years, and benefit as many as 20.3 million adult HIV-negative men. These numbers, along with analysis of our efforts in Swaziland, have been published in an SCMS article in the peer-reviewed scientific journal, PLoS Medicine.

SCMS Publication: "Male Circumcision Waste Management Plan."

SCMS recommends that health care waste management become an integral element to ensure that proper disposal of essential commodities and infectious waste do not harm health workers, the community or the environment.

PLOS Medicine: "Adult Male Circumcision Roll-Out in Africa." (July 2011)

A Model for the Roll-Out of Comprehensive Adult Male Circumcision Services in African Low-Income Settings of High HIV Incidence.

PEPFAR Report: "PEPFAR Male Circumcision Partners' Meeting: Commodities and Improved Coordination of Male Circumcision for HIV Prevention." (May 2009)

Summary of the Working Group Meeting objectives and outcomes.

WHO Report: "Considerations for implementing models for optimizing the volume and efficiency of male circumcision services." (2010)

The document provides guidance to programme managers involved in setting up or strengthening male circumcision services. This guidance is relevant to such services in both the private and public sectors. The information provided is also useful for funders and policy-makers who need to make decisions about the costing and financing of male circumcision services.

Drugs

WHO Publication: "The International Drug Price Indicator Guide." (2010)

This guide provides a spectrum of prices from 26 sources, including pharmaceutical suppliers, international development organizations, and government agencies.

USAID Guide "Restricted Commodity' Approval of Pharmaceuticals."

This USAID help document assists implementing partners and USAID technical and procurement offices in understanding how to get a “restricted commodity approval” for pharmaceuticals.

USAID ADS 312 Additional Help Document: "'Restricted Commodity' Approval of Pharmaceuticals."

SCMS can now purchase essential medicines from “a manufacturer inspected and approved by the World Health Organization (WHO) for compliance with Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP); or a manufacturer approved by the WHO Prequalification of Medicines Programme.”

World Bank Report: "A Practical Approach to Pharmaceutical Policy." (July 2010)

This publication provides a compact "Pharmaceutical Field Guide" for health and development policy makers in low- and middle-income countries.

Foreign Policy: "The Deadly World of Fake Drugs." (September/October 2008)

A selection of articles which examine the fake drug industry and what is being done to identify counterfeit medicine.

WHO Report: "Priority Medicines for Mother and Children." (2011)

The list of Priority Medicines for Mother and Children, developed by WHO, UNFPA and UNICEF, is a resource to help partners select and make available medicines with the biggest impact on reducing maternal, newborn and child morbidity and mortality.

PEPFAR Report: "Guidance for the Prevention of Sexually Transmitted HIV Infections (August 2011)

The purpose of this guidance is to assist PEPFAR country teams in developing Country Operational Plans (COPs) that align activities to prevent sexual transmission of HIV with country-specific epidemiology and country-owned responses, and that support the continuum of response at the country level.