31 October 2022 marked the conclusion of a deal with McKesson Corporation for PHOENIX group to acquire parts of McKesson Europe including Belgium, France, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Slovenia as well as the European head office in Stuttgart, the shared service centre in Lithuania, Recucare GmbH in Germany and the minority stake in the joint venture Brocacef Groep in the Netherlands. The transaction will create an integrated healthcare provider that brings together more than 45,000 employees, covers 29 countries, includes 224 pharmaceutical wholesale and pre-wholesale sites, as well as more than 3,200 owned pharmacies and 17,000 partner pharmacies. Thanks to the combined expertise of both companies, all customer groups will benefit from additional products and services in accordance with their local needs.
Within our two main business areas pharmaceutical distribution and pharmacy business from the onset of the pandemic in Europe, McKesson Europe has partnered internally and externally to provide solutions for the challenges ahead.
McKesson Europe has a strong record of working collaboratively with healthcare companies across a diverse range of portfolios including Branded Medicines, Generics, Specialty, OTC and Para pharmaceuticals. Across multiple markets in Europe, we act as a truly integrated healthcare service provider with both large manufacturers and smaller biotech companies alike and have strong partnerships in place with world-renowned partners such as MSD, AstraZeneca, Pfizer, GSK and many more. We are focused on providing flexible and bespoke supply chain solutions to manufacturers including a range of distribution models such as reduced wholesale, 3PL/pre-wholesale, direct-to-hospital/pharmacy distribution in a manner that reflects the changing needs of Manufacturers, Healthcare Professionals and Patients. Continuous collaboration with long standing strategic partners is one of the key elements of our vision – improving care in every setting: one product, one partner, one patient at a time.
We are also engaged with political stakeholders on all levels – from local authorities, regional and national governments to European Union and other international organizations such as GIRP, etc. Our businesses PharmaBelgium, OCP France, United Drug in Ireland and Kemofarmacija in Slovenia have all contributed to their respective governments’ efforts in PPE distribution to people despite the sudden spike in demand.
An example of how agile our business has remained during the pandemic is our business OCP France’s experience going from distributing PPE on behalf of the government from the onset of the pandemic to being the main distributor of the AstraZeneca vaccines. respect the cold chain requirements such as keeping the vials straight and vertical to avoid contact between the liquid and the stopper or protecting the vaccines from light and avoiding shaking them, OCP has implemented a special solution: cardboard packaging in which perforated foam is placed. Each "hole" accommodates a bottle, so as to isolate them well and thus protect them from jolts and keep them upright during transportation to the pharmacy.
TMJ is a vital part of the Danish infrastructure as we are part of the exclusive distribution sector, trusted to ensure the constant delivery of pharmaceuticals to Danish patients and families.
Throughout the pandemic, TMJ has secured and delivered not only pharmaceuticals and medical devices but also critical PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) to Danish pharmacies and hospitals. This includes products such as face masks, visors, hand sanitiser and medical gloves. By doing so the pharmacies have been able to support, advise, and service the Danish families and patients all through this uncertain time. TMJ has been and still is, in close dialogue with the Danish Ministry of Health and the Danish Medicines Agency to ensure a high level of safety and quality on pharmaceuticals and pharmaceuticals devices.
Furthermore, TMJ has built up knowledge, experience, and capacity for future involvement in the COVID-19 pandemic if necessary. This means that if the Danish Ministry of Health wants a broader distribution and availability of e.g., COVID-19 vaccines, we are available with our knowledge, experience, and competencies to service the Danish state, as well as hospitals and pharmacies. We at TMJ have many years of experience in the distribution of medicines and vaccines and we are ready to use it to help the Danish society.
McKesson Europe’s business United Drug being Ireland’s largest pharmaceutical-distribution company in Ireland has been the partner of choice from the onset of the pandemic. Our colleagues have been in close touch with the Irish Covid-19 task force to ensure the safe and timely delivery of vaccines. Additionally, United Drug has also supported the government’s efforts to donate 335,000 doses, of AstraZeneca vaccine to Uganda in September 2021. They successfully managed the supply chain for the clinical trials conducted by the Government, the HSE and University College Cork.
Paul Reid, CEO of the HSE visited United Drug on 29.06.2021. His key objective was to meet our colleagues to acknowledge the key role they have played in the vaccine program and to personally express his appreciation (and the appreciation of the Irish government).
The Managing Director of McKesson Ireland Paul Reilly, Commercial director David Keyes and Quality Director Catherine Cummins have met him to walk through the site to meet the Ops, Quality and Customer Service teams of United Drug. During this session they outlined some of the key statistics arising from UD’s activities, focused on the strong solution in place in ROI and they expressed their willingness to engage as a strong partner going forward.
On April 7 2021, OCP welcomed Portugal's MEP Manuel Pizarro to its headquarters and warehouse in Maia.
Rui Carrington, Managing Director and CEO of OCP Portugal, welcomed the MEP Manuel Pizarro and the ADIFA President, Nuno Cardoso at OCP Portugal's facilities in Maia. The visit was organized by ADIFA the Association of Pharmaceutical Distributors and gave insights in operating the daily pharmacies supply. The tour included the operation of the automatic line ("automaton") preparing orders from pharmacies, receiving, exchanging and returning goods, cold storage as well as photo and video stations that support quality control.
Rui Carrington reinforced the importance of full-service pharmaceutical distributors as reference partners of industry and pharmacies: This full-service guarantees all safety and quality conditions in storage and distribution, thus being a vital link in the medical supply chain.
