The pharmaceutical supply chain is under significant pressure, driven by escalating U.S. tariffs and global trade tensions. Recent policy shifts, including a 10 percent universal import tariff and proposed tariffs on foreign made pharmaceuticals, are disrupting sourcing strategies, increasing costs, and threatening the availability of essential medications. These developments are particularly concerning for generic drugs, which constitute over 90 percent of U.S. prescriptions and rely heavily on imports from India and China. 

In response, healthcare providers and manufacturers are re-evaluating their supply chain strategies, emphasizing real-time data, automation, and interoperability to enhance resilience. Drug Discovery News spoke with Tim Tinnel, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Intelliguard, to discuss how healthcare systems are adapting to rising costs, sourcing uncertainty, and medication shortages by investing in smarter technologies and more agile inventory management approaches.

How have recent or anticipated tariffs affected pharmaceutical supply chains from your perspective, especially regarding medication availability or logistics planning?

If you listen to experts across global supply chains—pharmaceutical or otherwise—you’ll hear a common theme: the importance of stability and predictability. When the system is in flux, it becomes nearly impossible for stakeholders to forecast costs or set pricing for the next link in the chain. That kind of uncertainty directly disrupts availability forecasts and makes logistics planning incredibly difficult.

Are you seeing increased demand for enhanced inventory management tools or track-and-trace capabilities as companies respond to tariff-driven reshoring or supplier changes?

Absolutely. You cannot manage what you cannot measure. The need for greater inventory transparency became especially clear during the medication shortages early in the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, we’ve seen growing demand for reliable track-and-trace tools, such as RFID, that enable more accurate, real-time inventory tracking. Those same capabilities remain in high demand as companies brace for tariff-driven disruptions or shifts in supply chain strategy.

How are your clients managing the uncertainty around sourcing critical medications and raw materials, particularly from regions like China and India?

While we work closely with manufacturers, our biggest concern is the potential impact on patients. Regardless of where the disruption occurs in the supply chain, it ultimately affects someone waiting for essential treatment. Wherever the raw materials are sourced, securing reliable sourcing and manufacturing of critical medications must be central to any long-term solution.

Have you seen shifts in how health systems or manufacturers approach stockpiling or safety stock strategies due to geopolitical tensions?

Stockpiling and safety stock have long been used to guard against local shortages. But there's a delicate balance—health systems need enough inventory to treat patients without driving up costs, risking expiration, or unintentionally worsening broader availability issues through overbuying. Geopolitical tensions have only heightened the need to strike that balance carefully.

In light of tariffs and potential shortages, how important is real-time visibility into medication supply chains, and what technologies are proving most valuable?

Real-time visibility is essential for achieving end-to-end transparency in the medication supply chain. The U.S. FDA’s Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) was created to enhance the safety of the pharmaceutical supply chain, with built-in track-and-trace requirements. Technologies that align with GS1 standards and use RAIN RFID, like those from Intelliguard, enable that visibility. When paired with tools like Mira Intelligence, which pulls actionable insights from supply chain read points, companies can better anticipate shortages and respond quickly.

What types of risks are your clients most concerned about right now—cost fluctuations, availability, regulatory compliance—and how are you helping them mitigate those?

Medication shortages are the top concern. When availability is uncertain, hospitals often respond by overbuying or paying outside their usual pricing thresholds, strategies that can create further instability. We stress the principle, “You can’t manage what you can’t measure.” Our Mira Intelligence platform gives clients real-time visibility into inventory and supply chain trends, including predicted shortages. That transparency helps them align purchasing decisions with actual risk, rather than reacting to speculation.

Do you believe the current climate is accelerating the adoption of smarter supply chain technologies in pharma? If so, in what areas?

Absolutely. The Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) has been a major catalyst for technology adoption in pharma. It’s driving the industry to build more secure and traceable systems for managing prescription drugs. One of its benefits is establishing a more robust system for tracing prescription drugs in the supply chain. For example, technologies like RFID are becoming increasingly valuable as they enable faster, large-scale tracking and inventory management, critical for meeting regulatory demands and improving overall supply chain resilience.

Are you incorporating more automation or digital quality control tools to manage increased throughput or tighter release timelines?

Intelliguard is uniquely positioned to deliver near real time inventory and supply chain transparency through our digital and Internet of Things (IoT) systems. Our use of RAIN RFID technology, coupled with GS1 tagging standards, allows for efficient reading and processing of enormous amounts of data as it passes through the supply chain and hospital inventory systems. This not only boosts throughput but also minimizes errors, supporting faster, more reliable operations.

What lessons from the pandemic or other geopolitical events are shaping how you future-proof your supply chain and/or medication management?

During the pandemic, Intelliguard proved its ability to respond quickly and effectively. We deployed a full vaccine management system over a single weekend for one of our West Coast clients. That kind of speed and flexibility comes from designing our IoT hardware and cloud software with interoperability in mind. In a world defined by constant change, adaptability is key. While many companies talk about being partners, we demonstrate it daily by helping our clients protect and future-proof their investments in inventory and supply chain management.