A Pfizer-Moderna faceoff and 14 more supply chain updates

Here are 15 supply chain updates for ASC leaders to know reported by Becker's since Nov. 29:

1. Pfizer and BioNTech filed a countersuit against Moderna on Dec. 5 over their rival COVID-19 vaccines made from the same mRNA technology. Moderna filed suit against Pfizer in late August and accused the drugmaker of infringing on patents and copying its mRNA technology "without ever requesting a license." Now, Pfizer has submitted an 81-page document in the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts accusing the other pharmaceutical company of writing a "revisionist history not based on fact."

2. Bryan LaBuda, director of enterprise materials management at Morgantown-based West Virginia University Medicine, shared his advice on how to counteract the "unprecedented" supply chain issues the industry is facing. 

3. The national shortage of oseltamivir, the generic of common flu drug Tamiflu, has seen a slight reprieve despite flu hospitalizations rising and Tamiflu demand spiking weeks earlier than normal. As of Dec. 2, 10 oseltamivir products from five drugmakers were in short supply. The update is a minor improvement from a month ago, when the supply of 12 products from six companies were low.

4. New York Sen. Chuck Schumer called on the federal government to prepare to act and aid New York as hospitals begin to deal with the surge of respiratory syncytial virus. Mr. Schumer pushed the government to surge staffing, move patients across state lines, credential out-of-state providers, expand telehealth and coordinate supply chains.

5. Denmark-based Novo Nordisk was not prepared for Wegovy and Ozempic — which are approved for weight-loss and diabetes, respectively — to be requested in high quantities. Because demand for the two FDA-approved drugs skyrocketed, they are in shortage and the drugmaker has missed out on millions of dollars due to supply issues. Wegovy has been in shortage since March 31 and Ozempic joined the list Aug. 23.

6. A report found that December's supplier deliveries index reading was 47.2 percent, an increase of four-tenths of a percentage point compared to October's 46.8 percent, its second straight month of increase. This indicates the strain on supply chains may be easing. 

7. As the "tridemic" of flu, COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus continues, pediatric hospitals are running into a new problem: a shortage of medical-grade cribs. Ventilators are also in high demand due to the RSV surge. The American Hospital Association said it received its first non-COVID-19-related request to the dynamic ventilator reserve since its launch in April 2020.

8. The White House's top supply chain adviser, Sameera Fazili, vacated her role as the deputy director of the National Economic Council and a deputy assistant to the president Dec. 2 as the strain of supply chain disruptions have lessened. Ms. Fazili's ongoing industrial policy work will be covered by two NEC staffers. 

9. Getinge Maquet/Datascope Intra-Aortic Balloon Pump devices were added to the FDA's medical supply shortage list Dec. 2. The agency said it is working with Getinge to boost the product's availability, though it expects the supply issue will continue into 2023.

10. Tuscaloosa, Ala.-based DCH Health System chose HealthTrust as its group purchasing organization, effective Feb. 1. HealthTrust will help supply the system's three medical centers and non-acute facilities in West Alabama.

11. New York City's NYC Health + Hospitals, Dallas-based Children's Health and eight more health systems and hospitals are looking for supply chain experts as of Dec. 1.

12. Steve Downey, Cleveland Clinic's chief supply chain and patient support services officer, answered top questions from supply chain leaders for Becker's, including questions on leadership and advice for up-and-coming supply chain experts. 

13. England-based drugmaker AstraZeneca will sell its facility in West Chester, Ohio, to another pharmaceutical company, San Diego-based National Resilience. The transaction is expected to be finalized in the first quarter of 2023, and services will be transitioned in phases. 

14. Ochsner Health's medical supply company, SafeSource Direct, will provide chemo-rated nitrile gloves to Vizient, a healthcare consulting company. The agreement came nearly two weeks after the FDA cleared SafeSource Direct's gloves, which the company has said it can manufacture 108,000 of per hour. 

15. Megan Ranney, MD, a professor of emergency medicine at Providence, R.I.-based Brown University, told CNN the medical supply chain is "dysfunctional [and] opaque." Read more on her opinion here.