KLU welcomes Ivan Lugovoi as Professor of Medical & Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Management

When asked what led him to his role at KLU, Lugovoi is swift to reply. “People,” he says. “I had visited several universities for job talks, but then I understood first of all I'm very welcome here. Maria Besiou (Dean of Research and Professor of Humanitarian Logistics) told me the university was looking for a healthcare professor, not just focused on operations management, and (Head of Department of Operations and Technology and Professor of Supply Chain and Operations Strategy) Kai Hoberg and I have very similar types of research. I clearly saw how I can collaborate with him.”

research on drug shortages

The research Lugovoi is referring to is on drug shortages, a topic he delved thoroughly into while working with Ohio State University. “We worked with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) how to avoid drug shortages and quality risks,” Lugovoi explains. “Particularly, my focus was on how the changes in US pharmacopeia monographs affect drug shortages. It’s research that is currently under review before being published.” As well as investigating whether outsourcing the production of drugs to Asia by pharmaceutical companies has an impact on shortages and quality risks, Lugovoi is engaged in a number of projects, both in the US and Europe.

Among them is the study of pharmaceutical procurement auctions in Germany. “In Europe, it's obligatory to publish information about tenders by public companies,” he explains, “Currently the auction customers are mainly public companies in Germany, so we have a significant database to draw upon and we look at how organizational biases affect the number of participants. “Looking at pharmaceuticals being auctioned is also interesting because for ten years you have the same product. If it was Ibuprofen, it was Ibuprofen for ten years so nothing changed in the generic product itself, which is very critical for the auctions’ research because if the product improves, you cannot really compare one to another.” Additionally, Lugovoi is working on a project to create quality scorecards for manufacturers of pharmaceuticals. “So, you have a rating depending on the quality of the product and its history, which would allow, for example, you to know which producer is has a better quality track record,” he elaborates.

pharmaceuticals as a strategic industry

Lugovoi, whose paper "Manufacturing and Process Innovation in the Pharmaceutical Industry" was awarded Best Informs Times paper of the month in June 2022, says he feels at home in Hamburg and is looking forward to future developments at KLU. “The idea is to create a pharmaceutical center at KLU to have the possibility to influence policy by working with German and European authorities,” he explains. “Europe is still lagging behind the US from the point of view of the collection of critical information that may help in onshoring - how to move their production here. The idea is to present pharmaceuticals as a strategic industry.”