Fighting the Flu: Tamiflu Stockpiling - A Pandemic Preparedness Policy

The case narrates the trigger points that encouraged Roche to make a 15-fold increase in its production capacity of Tamiflu, an antiviral pandemic flu drug recommended by the World Health Organisation as of 2004. The case describes how Roche handled the potential risk to its reputation and business stemming from a lack of access to the drug in the case of a pandemic scaling-up production and responding to the specific needs of a wide range of stakeholders.

The case helps discuss the importance of embedding the concept of sustainability and corporate social responsibility in key business decisions. It provides a good example of how timely supply chain decisions, based on network logic and early stakeholder engagement, can contribute to the bottom-line of a company and protect its reputational asset.