Intersys at Price Forbes Life Science Conference

Life Sciences Landscape – Insights from Pharma

Intersys Director Catherine Geyman speaking at Price Forbes Life Science Conference 2019

 

Intersys recently had the pleasure of presenting at the price Forbes Life Science Conference 2019. It was a fantastic opportunity to understand the latest regulatory, legal and insurance trends in the life Science industry. Intersys Director Catherine Geyman was guest speaker on the final day where she presented the latest innovative work that Intersys have been doing in the field of supply chain risk management. Delegates got a sneak preview of the latest addition to the SCAIR suite - Regulatory Incident Monitor.

Catherine Geyman said "The Price Forbes Life Science Conference is a great platform that brings together subject matter experts with diverse specialisms in the life science industry. It’s a fantastic opportunity to start conversations and showcase the exciting projects we have been working on. Pharma supply chains are rich in public event data – we are simply trying to make those events more relevant to individual companies through Monitor."

A big thank you to Price Forbes Executive Director, Head of Life Science, James Bird and the entire team for putting together such a well thought out and insightful event and looking forward to attending the next one!

 

 

 

 

 

New Business Interruption Insurance for Pharma

image of red and white capsules arranged to make up a world map

Crucial cover for pharma with new business interruption insurance

We’ve seen all too often the disruption events such as extreme weather can bring to pharmaceutical production, but it doesn’t always require a natural catastrophe to shut things down. The end-point of regulatory risk is also often lost production while businesses are forced to remediate problems by regulatory sanction or the threat of it.

And, while the hurricane season is geographically confined, businesses operating in possibly the world’s most heavily regulated sectors can be hit wherever they are. Enforced and pre-emptive shutdowns due to manufacturing deficiencies are estimated to have cost pharma businesses about $10 billion since 2001.

For the most part, it’s a cost they have had to bear alone.

Uninsured losses

image of black downward arrow against a backdrop of money showing business losses

Unlike fires, floods and storms, regulatory risks are not covered by standard business interruption (BI) policies related to property damage. For cover, the interruption usually has to be the result of insured risk, and insurance don’t usually help with regulatory fines as a matter of public policy.

Nor will the losses necessarily be picked up by other policies. As this post explains, one recent case saw a producer with suspected contamination at its manufacturing site unable to claim even under its business interruption cover for extortion property damage: With no actual extortion demand materialising, the interruption was solely the result of a regulatory order to suspend production until the site could prove a quality control process preventing tampering with capsule batches.

Likewise, Contaminated Products policies often have restrictions that prevent a claim for regulatory interruptions.

Introducing  non-damage business interruption (NDBI) 

It’s these gaps that a new Non-Damage Interruption Policy for the pharmaceuticals sector from Munich Re, which we’ve working with, seeks to address.

It covers the complete or partial shutdowns of production on the orders of regulatory authorities, and even instances where companies suspend production to pre-empt a forced closure and protect brand and reputation.

It’s another valuable tool in mitigating the risks that pharma businesses face – and plugging a gap in coverage that’s existed for too long. As with any insurance, though, to see its value and apply it properly, businesses first have to identify and understand their risks. As one of the first businesses to take up the policy explains in the Munich Re post, that means starting by modelling exposures and quantifying supply chain risks. And that, of course, is what we’re all about.

Business Insurance 2010 Innovation Award for Supply Chain Risk Management Software

Intersys joined 7 highly respected companies in New York to accept awards from Business Insurance, who recognised SCAIR, our 'Supply Chain Analysis of Interruption Risks' software as bringing innovation to the insurance industry.

SCAIR is used by insurers to help transparently determine Value At Risk for Business Interruption insurance for manufacturing clients.

The awards were decided by an independent panel of Risk Management professionals.

Catherine Geyman accepted the award for Intersys and was joined on stage by Neil Campbell of Jardine Lloyd Thompson.