Why change?

We are working to a shared agenda with the NHS, healthcare professionals, as well as the Government in delivering more effective and efficient healthcare to patients. As part of this commitment, AstraZeneca is taking responsibility for ensuring that a modern, simplified supply and delivery service is in place for our medicines.

The system of medicines distribution in the UK has been largely unchanged for many years. Until the start of our new supply and delivery service, AstraZeneca - like most pharmaceutical companies - mainly operated a method of indirect distribution of our medicines through a number of wholesalers, who would then supply our customers: community pharmacists, dispensing doctors and hospitals.

A review of how AstraZeneca medicines reached patients in the UK last year highlighted opportunities to simplify and modernise the existing system to help us ensure that our medicines are delivered to those who need them, when they need them.

We now deliver our medicines directly to customers in the UK through two agency partners AAH and UniChem.

We are supplying our medicines directly to the NHS with the help of our agency partners, instead of supplying them indirectly through a wholesaling system.

This new more direct relationship, for the first time, allows us to have a direct channel of communication and to better understand the needs of our customers.  It is also allowing us to implement patient support services for pharmacists to help them work with patients to ensure they get the best from their medications. AstraZeneca also believes that this direct relationship ultimately, will benefit patients in a range of ways.

AstraZeneca is also making some changes to the way we supply our medicines that can be administered to patients during GP or nurse consultations. These are the AstraZeneca medicines that can be purchased by GPs who are not licensed to dispense medications in accordance with NHS prescriptions in England and Wales. We have written to these GPs about this new service, but please contact us with any questions.

Our new supply chain will allow us to partner more directly with our customers to:

• Ensure a modern, simplified supply and delivery service is in place at all times, and
• Make sure our medicines are delivered to those who need them, when they need them

These changes have been made because the old system was outdated and needed modernising. We are working to a shared agenda with our customers - community pharmacies, dispensing doctors, hospitals and the NHS - as well as other healthcare professionals and the Government to deliver more efficient and effective healthcare to patients.

Learn more about the new supply and delivery service.