AstraZeneca Annual Review 2005 - AstraZeneca Annual Reports

18AstraZeneca Annual Review 2005SUPPLY> WE AIM FOR FAST, FLEXIBLE ANDRELIABLE SUPPLY OF ALL OUR MEDICINES> HIGH OPERATING STANDARDS AREA FUNDAMENTAL PRIORITYWe have some 14,000 peopleat 27 manufacturing sites in 19countries dedicated to ensuring thatwe provide top quality customerservice through secure, high quality,cost-effective supply worldwide.Our supply chains are designed to maximiseflexibility and our new supply system, nowimplemented across most of our supply network,continues to deliver customer service benefits.Barrie ThorpeExecutive Vice-President,OperationsWith a few temporary exceptions, supplies ofall our products were available to meet marketdemand in 2005.As part of our overall risk management, wecarefully consider at which point in a medicine’slifecycle to establish an appropriate supply chainfor it. Timely investment helps to ensure costefficiency. Secure supply chains are in place forall the products we currently have in late-stagedevelopment. Where appropriate, we have alsoassessed the needs for new technologies, suchas for biologics.Managing costs is an ongoing priority. Our newsupply system continued to deliver manufacturingefficiency benefits (such as shortened leadtimes) and improved customer service levelsduring the year. We are now focused on drivingfurther improvements.Around 1,500 people are employed in activepharmaceutical ingredient supply and 11,800 informulation and packaging. We operate a smallnumber of sites for the manufacture of activeingredients, complemented by efficient use ofoutsourcing. AstraZeneca has active ingredientsites in the UK, Sweden and France and a bulkdrug purification plant in Germany. Formulationsites are located in the UK, Sweden, PuertoRico, France, Germany and the US. Packagingis undertaken at a large number of locations,both at AstraZeneca sites and at contractors’facilities, located close to our marketingcompanies to ensure rapid and responsiveproduct supply.We continuously review our existing manufacturingassets to make sure they are being used in themost effective way, whilst preserving the flexibilitywe need to respond to fluctuations in demand.We sold our bulk drug facility in Guayama, PuertoRico, and our facilities in Naucalpan, Mexicoand in Manila, Philippines. Our expenditure onsupply and manufacturing facilities totalled$206 million in 2005 ($352 million in 2004).Ensuring the quality, safety and efficacy of ourmedicines remains a core priority. Reports frominternal routine inspections, as well as those byregulatory authorities, are rigorously reviewedand, if required, actions taken to further enhancecompliance. The results of all external inspectionscarried out during 2005 were satisfactory, andwe did not experience any significant supplydifficulties due to regulatory compliance issuesat our sites or those of our contractors.Safety, health and environment (SHE) operatingstandards are increasingly stringent withregulators placing particular emphasis onenvironmental issues and the safety of chemicals.Our manufacturing sites operate under variouslicensing regimes and internal managementsystems, and we are committed to meeting allregulatory requirements as a minimum baseline.There are currently no SHE issues that constrainAstraZeneca from making full use of its sites.We are making progress in the reduction ofwaste and energy use and the level of accidentswith injury is falling. When any accidents occur,we use a range of investigation proceduresto help us understand the causes and avoidrepetition. We also work closely with our suppliersto encourage standards similar to our own.More information about our SHE performance,and how we work with suppliers, can be foundin the separate Corporate ResponsibilitySummary Report 2005, or on our website •