DEMAND PLANNING AND SUPPLY CHAIN OPTIMIZATION FOR NOVEL PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTS-CAR T CELL THERAPY AND COVID-19 VACCINES

Abstract

The global pharmaceutical industry is booming due to the commercialization of drugs for previously incurable diseases. To improve global healthcare, the industry focuses on providing better access to medicines and vaccines.

Innovative treatments like CAR T cell therapy and COVID-19 vaccines require restructuring the pharmaceutical industry to match the right treatment with the right patient. The main challenges are accurately predicting drug demand and optimizing the supply chain to minimize costs while meeting demand.

This Ph.D. thesis studied demand estimation and supply chain optimization for COVID-19 vaccines and CAR T cell therapy. For COVID-19, compartmental modeling was used to understand the spread and estimate vaccination percentages. A resilient supply chain model was developed for global vaccine distribution under the COVAX initiative.

For CAR T cell therapy, patient enrollment data was used to forecast future demand. A two-step framework using historical clinical trial data helped predict enrollments and estimate geographical patient distribution for supply chain planning.