Stop TB Partnership | Global Drug Facility (GDF)

GDF Suppliers

Suppliers are engaged in line with WHO's Rules and Regulations on public procurement and GDF's stringent Quality Assurance process. GDF in this sense conducts procurement processes that ensure fairness, transparency, affordable prices, quality and security of supply.

Supplier Sourcing

The Global Drug Facility (GDF) provides medicines access to Tuberculosis Programmes around the world. Suppliers wishing to be considered must have their products either

approved by the WHO Prequalification Programme for Medicines, see www.who.int/prequal or
approved by a Stringent National Medicines Regulatory Authority

In case of a lack of qualified suppliers for specific products, GDF provides for an Interim Quality Assessment Process to fill supply gaps. Products are, however, reviewed under such process only on a needs basis and will be approved only for a limited period. Suppliers are therefore requested to enquire beforehand with GDF on the applicability of such process. Furthermore, product dossiers must always concurrently be submitted and pursued under either of the above two priority processes.

For orders financed by The Global Fund, GDF's complies with The Global Fund's quality assurance policy.

Suppliers newly approved by GDF can become eligible for long-term contracts in regular intervals through competitive processes conducted by GDF's appointed Procurement Agent. For products in short supply, variations may apply.

The supplier management concept implemented by GDF's Procurement Agent is based on awarding up to four LTAs per product, with established bandwidths of potentially realizable business. These bandwidths are set as a percentage of the projected annual product business volume, according to a supplier's ranking following the outcome of a competitive bidding process conducted by the Procurement Agent.

In addition, within the scope of the above bandwidths, the Procurement Agent holds competitions from time to time among relevant LTA holders for individual purchase orders. These competitions are based on price (LTA price or lower), lead time, registration status and supplier performance. Suppliers may quote lower prices than relevant LTA prices at any time, however in the understanding that this establishes a new price ceiling, valid for all upcoming orders under an LTA.