Zuellig Pharma expands facilities in Philippines

MANILA, Philippines — Healthcare services provider Zuellig Pharma Corp. is expanding its facilities and beefing up its digital solutions in the country to serve increasing demand.

Zuellig Pharma market managing director Jannette Jakosalem told The STAR the company looks forward to building five more cold-chain storage facilities in the country this year.

Jakosalem said the company also intends to create a National Distribution Center to ensure safe and efficient deployment of COVID-19 vaccines and boosters, such as the Spikevax COVID-19 Vaccine Moderna, to the general population.

“We are keen in building more facilities in the next two to three years such as state-of-the-art cold-chain storage facilities and the National Distribution Center to help the Philippines build its capacity,” Jakosalem said.

“We are also keen on improving our current roster of digital solutions in the logistics space in response to the growing needs of our stakeholders and the relevance of healthcare logistics in the industry,” she said.

Jakosalem said the company is focused on improving its logistics capabilities to ensure effective and efficient distribution of medical supplies, especially vaccines, across the country.

Since last year, Zuellig Pharma has invested in innovating its digital solutions to ensure a rapid response to the changing public demand.

Zuellig Pharma is the market leader in pharmaceutical distribution in the Philippines, with its integrated network of regional distribution centers across the country giving it a unique position to increase the reach and access of needed medicines and vaccines to the most vulnerable.

In the Philippines, it has cold-chain facilities with the capacity to store products at -20 degrees Celsius, alongside 10 medical grade freezers for -80 degrees Celsius storage.

The company also offers digital solutions to help address the demand of both public and private sector towards a safe and effective healthcare logistics services.

With the pandemic disrupting multiple industries, including the healthcare sector, Jakosalem said Zuellig Pharma saw an uptick in demand for healthcare services across the country, requiring effective and efficient logistics services.

As a result, the company introduced digital solutions in the healthcare logistics base such as the eZRx, eZConsult, and eZTracker.

eZRx is a transparent business-to-business e-commerce platform that drives sales, improves processes, and tracks orders for all clients.

Through this platform, Jakosalem said customers would have a convenient ordering experience through a user-friendly interface with an integrated payment gateway, client approval processes, and a data analytics module.

eZConsult, launched in 2020, is a virtual care mobile app that allows simple, secure, and safe access to healthcare services for doctors and patients alike.

The app is also a teleconsulting partner of retail pharmacies, laboratories, and fintech companies to provide advice and support, and services to patients through the platform.

eZTracker, for its part, is the first smartphone application in Asia powered by blockchain technology which determines if a product is authorized to be distributed in their locations.

The app enables full traceability in the distribution of medical products, even to rural areas without compromising product integrity.

Through commercialization arm ZP Therapeutics, Zuellig Pharma also utilizes its capabilities, expertise, and experience to help advance the national vaccination effort.

Jeff Folland, ZP Therapeutics (Philippines) general manager, said that as the official partner of Moderna TX Inc., the company is closely coordinating with the national government and relvant stakeholders in the processing and procuring of Spikevax COVID-19 Vaccine Moderna in the Philippines.

“Now that the Philippines is focused on bolstering its booster inoculation, we are working together with relevant stakeholders to ensure safe and accessible vaccine delivery across all local government units,” Folland said.

Zuellig Pharma is also working with the ports operator International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) to make vaccines more accessible to the private sector.

“As we see the relevance of improved logistics infrastructure and the adoption of digital solutions, Zuellig Pharma is bullish that our partnership with ICTSI will expand further to help in building a pandemic-resilient Philippines, accelerating our pivot to normalcy soon,” Jakosalem said.