World Courier Expands Storage Capabilities in India
as Clinical Trials Boom
BANGALORE,
India, January 28, 2008—In response to increasing demand from global pharmaceutical
companies that conduct clinical trials in India, World Courier will almost
triple the capacity of its ISO-certified, GMP-compliant investigational storage
facility in Bangalore during 2008. The expansion will be undertaken in two
phases, with the first phase being completed by the end of January and the
second phase set to get under way in April. The facility will remain open for
business throughout the construction period.
The delivery of this expanded state-of-the-art
temperature-controlled structure to the international research community follows ground-breaking 2004
patent legislation governing the molecular composition of new and existing
drugs. Since then, the progressive legislation – combined with the country’s
widely varied and densely populated demographics – has attracted growing
numbers of the pharmaceutical community to a local clinical trial market that
is expected to exceed $1.5 billion (U.S.) in investment by 2010.
“Given this
highly competitive environment and the complexity of clinical trial shipments, pharmaceutical
companies are turning to professional service partners to bring their international
studies in as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible,” says Dhananjay Achudan,
Country Manager for World Courier (India) Pvt Ltd., a transportation leader
in this country for the past decade. “Especially in a
country of this size where temperatures can range from +45oC to
below 0oC, clients have found that the use of our central
climate-controlled storage depot can assure product quality and hasten the
regulatory permit process while significantly reducing customs delays and
transportation costs. The shorter lead times and lower
costs realized through use of our storage facility have brought real value to
our clients, without them having to relinquish control of their inventories.”
Staffed by full-time licensed
pharmacists, the Bangalore
storage facility provides comprehensive logistical solutions for investigational
drugs and trial-related materials in a variety of temperature-controlled settings
that range from +25oC to -70oC. Services include validated
storage areas for drugs, diagnostic kits and medical devices; round-the-clock
access to inventories; transport of all investigational drugs and supplies from
the country of origin to the depot; immediate delivery of specified drugs/kits
from the depot to in-country locations; drug return/destruction management; and
complete logistics chain management. All documentation and materials are fully traceable
using CTM-STARSM, World Courier’s own CFR21-11-compliant monitoring
system which allows customers to view their inventories 24x7 via live password-protected
Internet feed.
World Courier currently maintains a
network of seven investigational drug
storage facilities worldwide, with installations in Buenos Aires (Argentina),
Sao Paulo (Brazil), Santiago (Chile), Mexico City (Mexico), Lima (Peru), Moscow
(Russia) and Bangalore (India). Five new
global locations are planned to come online in strategic and developing markets
during 2008, increasing World Courier’s network of temperature-controlled
biopharm facilities to 12 worldwide.
About World Courier
Incorporated in 1969 and
headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut
(USA)
World Courier is the largest and most experienced specialty courier service
with a network of over 140 company-owned ISO 9001-certified offices operating
in 50 countries worldwide. World Courier has set the benchmark for worldwide
time-sensitive transportation and is the acknowledged leader in delivering
customized solutions, cold chain and value-added services in growth markets
such as the bio-pharmaceutical, automotive and high-tech industries. Through
its company-owned offices and agents World Courier provides door-to-door,
customs-cleared service to more than 220 countries and territories.
In India, the company operates wholly-owned offices in Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad,
Mangalore, Chennai and Bangalore. To meet the logistical
needs of biopharm clients, World Courier (India) has also developed a strong
network of additional secondary service locations within the country where
prominent investigator sites are located.
For more information about
World Courier please visit www.worldcourier.com.
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Contact
Dhananjay
Achudan
Country
Manager
World
Courier (India)
Private Ltd.
Savipraja Enclave
No. 1183/A, 2nd Floor, 5th Cross, 9th Main
4th Block, HBR Layout
Bangalore 560043
India
Telephone: 91 80 2543 8606
Fax: 91 80 2543 8605
Email:dhananjay@worldcourier.co.in