Almac Group partners with QuickSTAT to cut clinical cold-chain delivery times

QuickSTAT, an express courier operating in most of the industrialized world, and Almac Group (Craigavon, UK), a leading contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) have set a strategic partnership whereby QuickSTAT will manage overall logistics and inventory management for clinical trial materials (CTMs) moving from Almac to trial sites around the world. The service, which includes same-day packout and dispatch of CTMs, by which QuickSTAT claims to cut 24 hours out of the overall delivery process as compared to conventional delivery services.

Almac has built out a substantial Clinical Technologies division in recent years, including a CLIA-validated lab and an IT system, IXR3, specifically for clinical trial management. Alongside its commercial-scale contract manufacturing, it provides services for biomarker development and companion diagnostics, and has recently expanded its direct-to-patient services for trials.

QuickSTAT has commissioned a new, 7,000-sq. ft facility near the Belfast International Airport (and 30 minutes from Almac) where packages can be pre-conditioned, packed out and then delivered to air carriers. A proprietary IT system provides overall logistics management, including ongoing monitoring of shipments, calculations of transit times and temperature maintenance capacity as well as managing returns of empty cartons for reuse. QuickSTAT will make use of packages built with vacuum-insulated panels and gel packs for refrigeration. Operating ranges of the GDP-compliant facility include 2-8°C, 15-25°C and -25 to -15°C.

QuickSTAT has some 30 years’ experience in handling the full range of life sciences express shipments, from pre-clinical through commercial, medical devices, organ transplants and blood products.