Focus on Procurement interviews Alyssa Currie, Acting Manager, Procurement and Contracts, Pharmac

Alyssa Currie, Acting Manager, Procurement and Contracts, Pharmac. Photo: Supplied

Where are you from?

I grew up in Napier but now call Wellington home.

What did you train in and where did you study?

I studied both commerce and arts here in Wellington at Victoria University. I completed a Bachelor of Commerce and Administration, majoring in Economics and Money and Finance, as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Art History.

What attracted you to a role in procurement?

I was first introduced to procurement early in my career and found it immediately interesting. When the opportunity arose to move into a commercially focused role, I jumped at it. Since then, I’ve worked across a range of commercial positions to broaden my skill set and deepen my understanding of the field.

I love developing and implementing commercial strategies and one of the things that connects me so strongly to Pharmac is seeing that tangible impact of our work. This is what really keeps me engaged and why I come to work every day.

What advice would you give anyone considering a career in procurement or commissioning?

Procurement covers a range of commercial roles and people have a wide range of backgrounds and experience. There’s no one sized fits all approach for what your background or career path should look like, there’s lots of transferrable skills that people have that are relevant to procurement. I really appreciate the range of perspectives the different backgrounds bring to a team. It really helps foster an environment of new and innovative thought.

Don’t be intimidated to give it a try. There are plenty of opportunities to learn on the job but if you’re wanting to undertake further studies, CIPS is incredibly accessible.

Can you please detail your top 3 achievements from your time in procurement?

1. Seeing the tangible impacts of pharmaceutical and medical device transactions that deliver savings to the health sector. The one that is most prominent for me is the commercial approaches that have been implemented for coronary drug eluting stents and the story that can be told with our data. Usage of these devices is consistently steady so when you see the expenditure it is easy to identify when we undertook market interventions. It wasn’t easy and there were a lot of challenges along the way but where that market is now reinforces that it was worth it and good decisions were made.
2. Establishing strong stakeholder relationships. It’s rewarding for everyone when you get feedback about the positive experiences that they’ve had for feeling heard, and seeing approaches being adapted that create confidence in a commercial process.
3. Being part of the evolution of our teams’ commercial skills and supporting them in their development. Very little of the work that we do is just due to one individual so being part of creating an environment that celebrates what we can achieve together is really important and rewarding.

There have been situations in the past when NZ has run short of and out of drugs sections of the population needs. When a situation like a particular medication is in short supply, how does the Pharmac procurement team respond?

Pharmac has a dedicated team of contract managers who oversee contracts once they are in place, including the management of any potential supply issues. Our contracts clearly outline supplier obligations, including requirements for stock holdings, timely notification of potential supply issues, and responsibilities for sourcing alternative products when necessary.

Contract managers work closely with suppliers to support them through the process for managing any potential supply issue. Having strong relationships with our suppliers is vital for mitigating the risk of patient level impacts, but the reality is that sometimes they do occur.

Suppliers understand that early communication is key. The sooner a potential supply issue is flagged, the more Pharmac can do to support them. This may include facilitating priority assessments for additional regulatory approvals or helping to source alternative products from other suppliers.

In 2020, Pharmac announced the decision to start offering and awarding Principal Supply Status (PSS) in their competitive procurement processes. What does that mean? And 5 years into that direction how is it going?

PSS is the mechanism Pharmac uses to award market share for pharmaceuticals. PSS is typically granted for a period of up to 3 years, providing suppliers with market certainty that enables them to offer competitive pricing.

Being the principal supplier does not mean they are the only supplier that can be used. There are provisions for alternative brands to be used in cases of individual clinical need.

The required level of PSS varies by product type. For medicines and vaccines, it is usually set at 95%. For hospital medical devices, the levels have been more varied, for example, wound care products have had PSS levels set at 75–80%, while coronary drug-eluting stents have been set at 65%. These variations reflect the different clinical considerations involved in determining an appropriate PSS level.

Pharmac draws on its expert advisory networks to provide guidance on commercial processes and clinical appropriateness throughout procurement. Where necessary, this includes advice on suitable PSS levels.

Prior to the introduction of PSS, Pharmac used sole supply for community pharmaceuticals and Hospital Supply Status for hospital pharmaceuticals. PSS offers greater flexibility, including discretionary allowances for community-funded pharmaceuticals which is an option that wasn’t available under the previous model.

What do you have to balance and consider when creating bulk purchase agreements?

Pharmac uses the Factors for Consideration as the framework when making funding decisions for pharmaceuticals in New Zealand. This covers health need, health benefit, suitability, and costs and savings.

People often have the assumption Pharmac only funds the lowest cost treatments, which isn’t the case. Price is obviously a factor as there is a limited funding budget available, and we have an obligation to deliver the best health outcomes from within this, but each pharmaceutical is different so we need to consider how the factors are applied for the relevant treatment.

What is the most exciting thing happening in the procurement community right now?

I guess it’s more of a front of mind thing at the moment: the updated Rules.

In an ideal world where you were not confined by a budget, what would you introduce to procurement that could help the industry function and develop?

ICT solutions to enable easier end-to-end procurement across all agencies.

In your opinion what is New Zealand’s greatest contribution to the procurement community here or overseas?

The transparency and accountability New Zealand provides the public.