Healthcare services business, Uniphar, has developed its full-service offering that harnesses Uniphar’s 57 years in the industry delivering specialist services to more than 200 international clients across 180 countries.  

Combining Uniphar’s established expertise and tailored strategies, the platform is designed to support pharmaceutical and biotech companies navigate the complexities of launching products, and coincides with the launch of Uniphar’s seventh cell and gene therapy program on behalf of a leading pharmaceutical company. 

Started by Irish community pharmacists in 1967, Uniphar has transformed through acquisition and growth into a diversified healthcare services company focused on improving patient access to pharmaco-medical products worldwide.  

“The challenges facing pharma and biotech companies can be far-ranging when it comes to launching innovative therapies, and as a result, there’s a significant cohort of medicines that aren’t being launched in large parts of the world, despite there being a patient need.” explains Brian O'Shaughnessy, Chief Commercial Officer at Uniphar.  

“Diverse regulatory requirements, R&D costs, pricing pressure and a lack of infrastructure are just some of the potential barriers companies can face when launching complex medicines in complex markets. It requires experience, expertise and a highly specialized supply chain. Being agile to work with these challenges and create new infrastructure or new capability to overcome them, is what makes Uniphar’s commercialization platform uniquely positioned.”  

Unlocking Europe 

With its independent commercial potential, the European pharmaceutical market currently makes up 19% of the global market[1] and this figure is set to grow in 2025. However, latest research highlights 64% of sales of new medicines launched during the period 2016-2021 were in the US, compared with only 16.8% in Europe[2], posing both a challenge and an opportunity for pharmaceutical and biotech companies.  

“Understanding the diverse needs and regulations of different European markets is vital to unlocking access to life changing medicines wherever there’s a patient that requires it. Adapting to the evolving pharmaceutical landscape that’s been witnessed over the last 25 years and looking at the future direction of the sector, has provided us with the insight to create a platform that helps to simplify the process and not only provide the solutions to overcome market access challenges, but also increase access to medicines for both healthcare providers and patients.” Says Brian O'Shaughnessy. 

Making a difference through equitable access for cell and gene therapies  

By 2030, up to 60 new cell and gene therapies are expected to be ready for routine practice, and addressing equitable access will help to ensure that these therapies reach the 350,000+ patients who stand to benefit[3]. 

Uniphar is now working on a seventh cell and gene therapy expanded access program, and in 2023 successfully delivered complex therapies to 500 patients across 50 countries. As the global leading expert in cell and gene therapy access, Uniphar’s pharma division draws together multifunctional teams and infrastructure to support commercialization.  

“The work that Uniphar is doing with cell and gene therapies is a perfect example of how important the right infrastructure is when it comes to bringing highly complex, lifesaving therapies to patients in a real-world setting. However, ensuring equitable access to these ground-breaking medicines is key to meeting patient need.” 

For more information on Uniphar, visit www.Uniphar.com/Pharma