Sample dispatch and sample delivery

A Swiss company with a wholesale license was looking for new solutions for shipping drug samples and drafting internal guidelines for sample distribution to pharmacies and drugstores.

We supported the company in selecting a transport service provider and drafted contracts to ensure that the transport complies with Good Distribution Practice (GDP) and that the medicines are not damaged.

Together, we drafted internal guidelines (Standard Operating Procedure, SOP) that clearly and simply specify the quantities in which samples for professionals and the general public can be distributed to professionals in drugstores and pharmacies in accordance with the provisions of the Ordinance on the Advertising of Medicinal Products (AWV). This enabled the company to simplify its processes and ensure that samples were distributed in accordance with Swiss law.

From A to B via CH

International distribution of medicinal products

An internationally active pharmaceutical company based in Switzerland manages the Europe‑wide distribution of its medicinal products from Switzerland. The key questions were under which conditions direct deliveries between EU countries with administrative processing via Switzerland are possible and which authorisations are required for this purpose.
All players in the pharmaceutical supply chain must comply with the principles of good manufacturing practice (GMP) and good distribution practice (GDP) in order to protect patients from falsified medicinal products entering the legal supply chain. Drawing on our experience in Swiss and European pharmaceutical law as well as in matters relating to the bilateral agreements (Mutual Recognition Agreement, MRA), we were able to contribute to the design of the distribution structure.