2 minute read
Industry news
from REP JULY 21
Longtime industry rep announces retirement
John Winkeler, owner of St. Louis-based John Winkeler Associates, Inc., along with his wife Pat, are excited to announce their retirement effective June 2021. continued for the next 18-plus years. Pat was part of the initial growth at ADC as she worked with the dealers, the sales reps, planned meetings, and eventually helped develop international sales. Pat married John and moved to St. Louis in 2002. The past 10+ years, Pat and John have worked side-by-side in the repping business
Both Pat and John are grateful to have had the opportunity to work with so many amazing people who have unselfishly invested their time and knowledge which allowed everyone to grow together. Though they are sad to leave the industry they love, they both look forward in spending time with their families, traveling, and enjoying life to its fullest.
John and Pat Winkeler
John’s career began June 1970 working in the warehouse for a local medical supply dealer. He advanced his medical distribution career through customer service, sales, and then to assistant vice president of sales. That humble beginning set the groundwork for him to learn from the bottom up on what it takes to grow in this industry. It was 1991 when John Winkeler Associates, Inc., was founded as an independent rep organization covering multiple midwestern states proactively promoting with distribution to the end users in medical, dental, and veterinary markets. Throughout his career, John has achieved several national, regional, and local awards which he strongly feels recognize his partnerships with his dealer organizations and their reps.
Pat’s medical career began with American Diagnostic Corporation (ADC) as their very first employee and
FDA requests funding to bolster supply chain
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has asked Congress for a $6.5 billion budget, an 8% increase over the previous year. Congress will ultimately decide how much money the various health agencies get, but the requests indicate the federal government hopes to make supply chain resiliency a priority going forward. The new budget request proposes initiatives to regulate the healthcare supply chain and mitigate shortages of drugs and medical devices.
After last year, it’s easy to see that the focus on the supply chain has increased dramatically. According to FreightWaves, the 2022 budget request mentions supply chain nearly 120 times, compared to just over 50 the previous year.
Among other things, the FDA wants $21 million to create a Resilient Supply Chain and Shortages Program focused on medical devices. The program would be similar to the FDA’s Drug Shortages Program, created in 1999.
Prior to the pandemic, the agency didn’t have a formal program to monitor the supply chain for medical devices. In the budget request, the FDA highlights how it began monitoring the supply chain for devices without a formal program. The proposed 18-person office would identify shortages before they happen and intervene to prevent them.
