Parexel International has further expanded its global clinical logistics infrastructure with a new ancillary warehouse in the greater Boston area of the US and a “significantly enlarged” depot in Santiago, Chile.

The additional facilities bolster a clinical logistics network that extends across North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa and the Asia/Pacific region. Parexel already manages clinical trial supplies in more than 100 countries through logistics control hubs located in 17 of these.

In December 2010, the US-based biopharmaceutical services provider opened Clinical Logistics Services facilities in Singapore and Russia to address growing industry demand for handling and transport of clinical trial supplies in emerging markets.

Efficiently and reliably

Parexel’s Clinical Logistics Services are aimed at ensuring clinical studies are conducted efficiently and reliably through streamlined distribution and centralised management of trial supplies, the company notes.

The logistics group manages import/export requirements as well as end-to-end co-ordination of the trial-material supply chain, from planning, sourcing, manufacturing, storage and distribution through to site management, returns and destruction.

“We are taking a strategic approach to the biopharmaceutical industry’s steadily growing clinical logistics needs,” commented Kurt Norris, Parexel’s corporate vice president, Clinical Research Services.

With clinical trials becoming more complex, sponsors “find it challenging to organise consistent delivery of trial-related supplies to multiple locations around the world”, Norris pointed out.

“Expansion of our clinical logistics capabilities in North America and Latin America, in addition to ongoing investments in this area, reflect our commitment to bring greater efficiencies to global trial execution.”