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therapies which are someone’s engineered cells that are being moved,” Herbert says. “The complexities of those logistics are just much, much more challenging. The patient is actually in the supply chain.” The pressure on the company to deliver these therapies in a time-sensitive manner is immense, Herbert explains. “The tolerance for anything not to go right is very small so the contingency planning that you need to go through, and the active monitoring and issue resolution is extremely high for these therapies. But at the same time they’re incredibly exciting if you look at some of the outcomes we’re seeing from these therapies.” It’s not just treatments that are evolving but the ways in which pharmaceutical companies conduct clinical trials, all of which bleed into how World Courier operates as a company. Herbert tells me about how certain pharma companies are targeting therapies for smaller populations, such as rare and orphan diseases, and how clinical trials now need to recruit patient populations from further afield. Traditional clinical trials, which are usually based at one site and might require daily infusions, can place a huge burden on families having to choose to move closer to the site’s location or decide not to participate in the trial. Clinical trials targeting patient populations which may be more dispersed require an approach which Herbert calls personalised supply chains or a direct-topatient model. The ability for World Courier to deliver infusions to a patient’s house, or school
at which a nurse can administer the therapy, removes the burden of families having to suddenly move and brings benefits to the pharmaceutical company conducting the trial such an increased retention rates and faster recruitment times. Our conversation delves on the innovations occurring in the supply chain sector, the importance of industry integration and standardisation, and how the company’s global reach has enabled it to help its clients deal with emerging regulatory challenges. But one area Herbert identifies as needing improvement is in unlicensed medicines. While unlicensed medicines can be prescribed by a healthcare professional, Herbert alludes to more nefarious parties making certain drugs available on an unlicensed basis into other countries. Hebert mentions how he sees the practice occurring particularly around drugs for rare and orphan diseases and also in the paediatrics market as well. For children with a certain type of cancer or genetic disease, there’s little parents wouldn’t do to obtain a therapy they think will help, Herbert says. “I feel for pharma companies cause they’re trying to control
this through different distribution set ups, but these drugs are getting out. Personally, in terms of counterfeiting and profiteering I see large opportunities for improvement,” Herbert adds. Talking of improvement, World Courier has recently expanded its distribution capabilities in a move which Herbert believes comes back to operating at scale. With over 150 offices, World Courier’s scale means it can respond to client needs much more quickly. “If you have a patient in a specific city, where something has changed in terms of the day, we can respond much more quickly, because we can have the right packaging on hand with the right capabilities to then move that sample rather than needing to have a one-to-two day lead time.” “There are a lot of cost pressures on pharmaceutical companies and we’re seeing more and more pharmaceutical companies want to work with global companies rather than have different partners in every country,” Herbert says. World Courier certainly now seems to be that global company Herbert alludes to. From small beginnings in New York, the company has played an unsung role in helping to deliver life-saving medicines all across the world. Here’s to another 50 years.
The tolerance for anything not to go right is very small so the contingency planning that you need to go through, and the active monitoring and issue resolution is extremely high for these therapies.
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