Drug shortage tracking app

About the Client

SANDOZ is a global leader in generic pharmaceuticals and biosimilars. Biosimilars are ‘similar’ versions of a type of medicine called biologics. Sandoz is the pioneer in this area. They started the world’s first ever biosimilar development program in 1996 and were the first company to receive approval for a biosimilar in Europe, Japan, Canada and the US.

The Sandoz Stockout Monitor project’s purpose is to help pharmacists have the right information at the right time, giving the right support to their patients.
Q helped to develop an application that will be used mainly by pharmacists in order to receive information about drug shortages, report drug shortages, as well as to find alternatives for the drugs that are not in stock.

Discovery

A mini discovery phase was conducted, with a business analyst and a project manager. All business and project requirements were gathered and the backlog was created.

The focus of the discovery phase was on software upgrade (backend and frontend), scope definition and estimate, as well as resource utilisation optimisation.

Design

The application itself did not have any defined branding and was not visually connected to Sandoz. The Q team created several suggestions for the UI direction.

The aim of design is to prioritise simplicity, ensuring that all essential elements are immediately visible and effortlessly accessible. Key features such as search, filters, and drugs list are prominently displayed, allowing users to find what they need quickly and efficiently.

The user interface is streamlined to minimise distractions, with intuitive navigation and a clean layout that facilitates a seamless user experience. By focusing on simplicity, we ensure that the design is not only aesthetically pleasing but also highly functional, enhancing usability and satisfaction for all users.

Development

Tech stack for Sandoz was 2 full-time developers that built a fully functional web application and Admin Panel built with Angular and PHP Symfony, supported by PM and Google Analytics Specialist.

Q helped to develop an application that will be used mainly by pharmacists in order to receive information about drug shortages, report drug shortages, as well as to find alternatives for the drugs that are not in stock.

Developing the app was challenging due to the need to connect with numerous external services, leading to a substantial data load that required constant synchronisation. Ensuring real-time data accuracy and reliability while managing diverse APIs demanded meticulous planning and a robust architecture to maintain seamless performance.

Markets that are included in the project: Spain, Belgium, Italy, Germany, France, Switzerland and Czech Republic.
Each user from the pharmacy that will be needing this platform will receive their link for that specific market and will have to register to see the content.

End Result

Q helped develop the Sandoz web application for pharmacists to receive and report drug shortages and find alternatives. The project faced challenges due to the requirement to connect with diverse external services, resulting in a considerable data load requiring continuous synchronisation. The Q team ensured real-time data accuracy and reliability and achived the main project goal.