Services for distribution of tissue engineering products and therapies

Abstract

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -Tissue engineering (TE) offers treatments for chronic, life threatening, degenerative illnesses and possibilities for restoring cellular or organ functions that have been lost due to injuries or hereditary conditions. However, a prerequisite for the use of TE products as part of future therapies is the development of strategies for safe and efficient supply chain management and versatile services spanning from product development to a follow-up period of possibly decades. The present study aims to explore the future needs for services and extended supply chains for safe delivery of health care, procurement, distribution and long-term follow-up of TE products and therapies. Design/methodology/approach -Studies in operational disciplines and coordination systems for different types of supply chains and service networks are used to formulate a framework for developing services throughout product lifecycle. Case examples of TE products are presented to demonstrate complexity, microbial risks, services and long-term follow-up. The role of logistics and the necessary services are identified for products classified into experimental, therapy and standard products. Findings -The paper finds that, through the stages, the importance of logistics increases from an enabler to becoming a strategic tool, emphasizing logistics requirements in establishing a viable TE supply chain. New dimensions to existing service operations frameworks are needed where proactive tissue sourcing, long follow-up periods, short shelf life and biological risks call for enforcing flexible services with tissue banks, detailed tracing, authorization and regulation. Originality/value -The paper presents the discovery of the logistics services and service institutions that will become imperatives for the future success of TE products and therapies.

An analysis of supply chain strategies in the regenerative medicine industry—Implications for future development

“…A qualitative research design was deemed appropriate for this exploratory paper due to the lack of research into the supply chains for cell therapies (Nordstorm & Nahri, 2009). Furthermore a qualitative research design allowed us to ask 'how' and 'why' questions during the data collection process.…”

“…As regenerative medicine is relatively new, many of its cell therapies are currently in the experimental stages or undergoing clinical trials. Hence little research has been carried out to characterise the nature of supply chains for commercial production of these therapies (Nordstorm & Nahri, 2009). The development and delivery processes for these therapeutic medicines (to the patients) are unique compared to other industries (Rossetti, Handfield, & Dooley, 2011), i.e.…”

Centralised versus decentralised manufacturing and the delivery of healthcare products: A United Kingdom exemplar

“…The former has received substantially more attention and investment and potential purpose-built culture environments are beginning to be available for CGT manufacture. Historically the issue of the CGT supply chain has been relatively under-funded [44] and only recently have substantial product advances and investment decisions beyond mandatory characterisation occurred [45]. These include dedicated facilities such as the Fisher CryoHub for storage, distribution and logistics, services such as Cryogatt RFID and TrakCel for audit and chain of custody and products such as the Asymptote Thawer for automated reconstitu-tion.…”