Logistics care and knowledge help fast-track fibrosis drug development

Fibrosis is a serious medical condition characterized by the accumulation of excess scar tissue in an organ which, overtime, can lead to a decline in organ function. Fibrosis can affect most solid organs, including the lung, liver, kidney, heart, intestine, bone marrow and skin, and is estimated to contribute to one-third of natural deaths worldwide. 

The key strategy to prevent, halt or even reverse fibrosis in chronic disease is the development of new and better medicines. This can only be achieved through highly specialized pre-clinical pharmacological research.

FibroFind is an innovative UK-based Contract Research Organization (CRO) that focuses on this type of research, partnering with pharmaceutical companies to carefully design and execute drug development studies, tailoring its work to its clients’ goals.

While FibroFind’s research specialists are committed to providing clients with innovative pre-clinical studies using its state-of-the-art preclinical platforms, the company needs an equally expert provider to offer reliable logistical support. The challenge is to deliver vital research samples, across the world.

This is no task for a regular ‘drive and drop’ courier company. The samples are fragile, temperature and time-sensitive, whereby efficiency is important and reliability is critical. 

To meet these exacting requirements, FibroFind partners with Biocair as its specialist logistics provider.

FibroFind's background

FibroFind, based in the north-east of England, offers services for determining the efficacy of potential anti-fibrotic molecules. It provides its clients, which are predominantly from the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, with knowledge exchange of current understanding in the field of fibrosis and chronic disease, helping them fulfil their drug development aspirations.

With decades of experience at the cutting edge of fibrosis research, the company employs a team of world-class senior scientists who carry out in-house R&D and expert project planning to advance the technologies needed to provide pharmaceutical clients with robust pre-clinical data.

Logistics challenge

Once FibroFind has performed their studies and carried out the analyses, it not only supplies clients with a full report but also sends them samples collected during the study. 

Lee Reed, Chief Compliance Officer for FibroFind, sums up the company's challenge:

"We frequently need to ship sensitive materials that encompass months of work, and this presents us with hurdles in terms of logistics. These samples cannot just be handled like ordinary packages"

Reed is responsible for the planning, organization and management of the shipments. He says the key issue was how to deliver such materials rapidly and safely from FibroFind's laboratories in the north-east of England to pharma clients in North America, Europe and other destinations globally. With the successful development of life-changing drugs hinging on finding a solution, he researched a number of potential partners before selecting Biocair, a specialist with over 35 years of logistics experience in the healthcare and life science sectors.

Biocair's solution

It fell to Zara Smith, Life Science Logistics Coordinator based in Biocair’s Cambridge office, to meet the challenge. She was aware of the fragility of FibroFind's consignments, particularly their temperature sensitivity. "Most shipments must be kept at -60 to -80 degrees throughout, so they are packed with dry ice but, as this depletes over time, we must proactively monitor the situation and top it up in transit when necessary," she says. 

Smith says speed was also critical. "Delays could ruin the samples, so it's vital that we facilitate customs clearance by checking all the relevant regulations and expediting all the clearance documentation in good time."

Reed adds, "Biocair is fantastic at this. Previously this was done by myself, often spending many hours at the weekend tracking packages and running up hundreds of pounds in international phone bills. Zara and her colleague Kevin have provided a fantastic service where we trust them to deliver our packages." While Biocair uses software to track the shipments, Smith says the personal touch is just as important as the technology.

"We try really hard to communicate well with the client and, if there's a problem, we tell them what's gone wrong and what we're doing to fix it. We’re completely honest with them, which I think has built trust between us and the FibroFind team."

Biocair has helped FibroFind with over 100 shipments so far, most of which have been temperature-controlled and international, with destinations including the US, Japan, Turkey, Sweden, Denmark and France.

Summary

FibroFind’s experts work closely with clients to build firm foundations for the development of drugs to prevent, halt or reverse fibrosis. They supply data to support insightful, confident decision-making by clients enabling them to accelerate drugs to clinical trial, manufacture and patient care.

This vital work could not be progressed as quickly and efficiently without the collaboration with Biocair, which enables FibroFind to overcome significant logistics and regulatory compliance challenges. 

FibroFind's Reed says the support that Biocair offers has exceeded all his expectations:

"They've been incredible, demonstrating logistics knowledge and skills, reliability and attention to detail. Above all, they always keep us informed and give us peace of mind that our shipments are in safe hands."