World Courier has recently acquired SMS Temp Critical, a leading UK-based road transportationspecialist for the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and healthcare industries, and is expanding in
Turkey with its first office in the country.SMS Temp Critical, a European market leader in temperature-controlled product distribution, hasbeen re-named to World Courier Ground (Europe) Ltd. The acquisition price for the company, locatedin Hythe, Kent, was not disclosed.
“The acquisition of SMS Temp Critical was a perfect fit for World Courier,” commented WayneHeyland, president of the World Courier group of companies. “SMS provides sophisticatedtemperature-controlled ground services that are complementary to those provided by World Courierand shares a common philosophy of quality, customer care and regulatory compliance. With thisacquisition, we can provide customers with more scheduling options for the distribution of theirtemperature-sensitive shipments within Europe without compromising the quality, control,flexibility, or risk reduction strategies that customers have come to expect from WorldCourier.”
The new company has invested heavily in staff and driver training and development, validatedvehicles, advanced telematics and operational software including real-time satellite trackingcapabilities to meet the most demanding temperature-control requirements of the pharmaceuticalindustry. World Courier Ground (Europe) Ltd. can readily handle the inter-European transport ofinvestigational medicinal products (IMPs) as well as larger bulk shipments for clinical trials at avariety of temperatures ranges: +2°C to +8°C (refrigerated), -20°C (frozen) and +15°C to +25°C(ambient). It recognizes and complies with all relevant aspects of Good Distribution Practice (GDP)guidelines set forth by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in theU.K.
Separately, World Courier will target the Turkish biopharm sector with the opening of its firstoffice in Istanbul this month to offer the pharmaceutical industry high qualitytemperature-controlled logistics services to enable successful clinical trials in the country.World Courier will offer temperature-controlled transport and logistics to all major cities inTurkey.
“Turkey offers great potential for pharmaceutical companies, providing they are able to navigatethe Ministry of Health’s rigorous compliancy regulations,” said Klaus Hachmann, Regional Directorfor World Courier’s Nordic, Central and Eastern Europe group. “World Courier has the knowledge, thenetwork and the expertise to offer consistently reliable, high-quality temperature-controlledtransport to the rapidly growing number of in-country investigator sites.”
According to the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), more than 250 trials are currentlyunder way in Turkey, with another 200 studies in the patient recruitment phase. With a strong poolof skilled labour, lower operating costs than those found in Western Europe and a concentratedgovernmental effort to increase R&D investment by 2013, Turkey offers great opportunity for thefuture.
World Courier operates a network of over 140 wholly-owned ISO 9001-certified offices in morethan 50 countries and also operates the world’s largest integrated company-owned network ofGMP-compliant investigational drug storage facilities in 11 developing and strategic locations,with two more locations soon to open.
With a fully GxP-compliant transport and supply chain system in place network-wide, WorldCourier meets the most demanding industry and regulatory requirements for managing the time- andtemperature-sensitive consignments of regulated and other industries.
