BioLife Solutions showcases its Biologistex service for managing logistics of biologic materials
Company hopes to ride a boom in stem-cell and related therapies
Following a successful debut at the International Soc. for Cellular Therapy (ISCT; Las Vegas, May 27-30), BioLife Solutions says that it is 4-6 weeks away from introducing its Biologistex service to the US market and selected international trade lanes. The Bothell, WA firm sells a variety of preservation media (including hypothermic and cryogenic ranges) that enable cells and tissue samples (including materials for therapeutic use, such as stem cells) to be stored and transported. As an extension of these products, it is introducing Biologistex to enable CROs, cell therapy centers and the like to pack, ship and track shipments, both to and from healthcare facilities, with dedicated cold-chain packaging and onboard, cellular communications for datalogging and condition monitoring via a cloud-hosted app.
The company has previously announced a partnership with Savsu Technologies (Santa Fe, NM), and will be using Savsu’s Evo shippers, generally with 1-liter capacity and configured for controlled room-temperature, 2-8°C (refrigerated) and cryogenic temperature regimes. Other, unnamed partners are providing related technology, says Mike Rice, BioLife CEO. “The goal is to empower our customers to self-manage the overall logistics process for these materials, without needing to rely on ‘white glove’ courier services and other logistics providers,” he says. The cloud-based apps the company is developing will enable clients not only to monitor the condition of a shipment, but also to select a carrier service and book a shipment.
Rice continues: "We believe that ‘needle to needle’ logistics surveillance, from the extraction of source material from a patient, to the delivery of a manufactured cellular therapeutic to the same or an unrelated patient, not only enhances clinical care, but will also become required by regulators and payers as more biologic-based therapies navigate the approval process and move into largescale commercial manufacturing.”
