Clinical Reference Laboratory banks on Cryoport for shipping deep-frozen biologics in clinical testing

Cryoport, Inc. (Lake Forest, CA), which combines a reusable, nitrogen-based deep-frozen shipping container with a cloud-based logistics management system called Cryoportal, has announced an expansion of its service agreement with Clinical Research Laboratory (CRL; Lenaxa, KS). CRL is one of the largest single-site testing labs in the US, handling millions of samples for clinical trials, molecular diagnostics, toxicology and other processes, for researchers in the US and abroad. “CRL is pleased to expand our portfolio of global logistics services by partnering with Cryoport to offer this quality based, cost effective technology solution,” said John Byerley, CRL’s VP of clinical trials operations, in a statement.

Cryoport has developed a novel container and shipping service for cryogenic sample movement. A cylindrical container holds liquid nitrogen (which avoids emissions of the carbon dioxide—and resulting hazardous-materials restrictions in air shipping—as compared to dry-ice-based refrigerants), with the container delivered ready for use, and labeled for pickup. At the receiving end, the used container can be readily returned to Cryoport for recharging. Cryoport has an agreement with FedEx for pickup, delivery and return; lab managers thus avoid the complexities of managing a delivery service. The Cryoportal, linked to FedEx’s tracking system, allows for ready access to shipment status.