The globalisation of pharmaceutical clinical trials, leading to many trial sites being located in developing countries, has placed new pressures on distribution networks and increased the need for proper handling of time- and temperature-sensitive transport.
To meet these evolving needs World Courier has formalised its GxP (good distribution / manufacturing / storage / clinical practice) compliance by taking several measures.
These include the development of a company-wide GxP policy, implementation of processes to enhance its ISO 9001 programme and the appointment of a global quality assurance (QA) team to ensure compliance on local, regional and corporate levels.
World Courier believes that by adopting an integrated, company wide approach it can ensure that all aspects of a client’s pharmaceutical storage and transport needs are safeguarded.
This spans temperature controlled transport of investigational drugs, biological samples and ancillary supplies to and from research sites, as well as the storage and distribution of materials from its 11 GMP-compliant drug depots.
Furthermore, World Courier aims to ensure the quality of its temperature controlled operations by employing experts who recommend the appropriate packaging from a range of thermal containment offerings.
The compliance of all these operations is monitored by the global QA team to ensure standards are maintained from start to finish. Wayne Heyland, president of the World Courier group, added that the company will continue to improve its processes.
He explained that “as the concept of 'quality' continues to evolve, our mission is to ensure that we evolve with it, and that we continue to lead – not follow – industry standards in this critical area”.