The business of moving blood

3PLs in the biomedical sciences (BMS) industry have the demanding job of moving temperature-sensitive as well as highly expensive medical equipment. In a republic that targets to reach S$25 billion in manufacturing output and an employment of 15,000 by 2015, these 3PLs have their work cut out for them.

Asia is fast honing its BMS expertise, with Singapore being the focal point of these activities. "In this city-state, world-class capabilities are being built across the entire value chain – from basic research, clinical development, product and process development and manufacturing to healthcare services," says a spokesperson from World Courier.

World Courier is one of the 3PLs tasked to handle sensitive shipments from the BMS industry, together with competitors DHL, TNT, Zuellig Pharma and Bax Global.

The company believes that with the continuous investment in Singapore by both the government and leading research and pharmaceuticals companies, there will be an increased need in specialised logistics requirements for transporting pharmaceutical products and blood or other biological specimens, at a strictly controlled temperature for research and manufacturing use.

This in turn means added challenges for the logistics provider, says Lim Kok Kiang, director for logistics at EDB Singapore.

"Handling logistics and supply chain management for the BMS industry can be a highly regulated and complex matter, due to the demanding needs of the client. Frequently, they will have to deal with complications, such as meeting the stringent yet, constantly changing regulatory requirements of different countries, handling temperature-sensitive biomaterials and understanding the hazardous or perishable nature of the shipments," he says.

"At the same time, the rising threat of bioterrorism has led to tighter security regulations and more rigorous controls. Due to these issues, logistics players need to be reliable, trustworthy and have a strong track record. They will also need to cope with the challenges by building specialised infrastructure, tapping upon new technologies and products, basically providing knowledge-intensive solutions to their customers."

Coping with new and evolving regulations is one of the foremost challenges for these 3PLs, says World Courier.

"Stringent regulatory requirements are the major challenge in the Biopharm sector as well as a lack of market awareness on using the appropriate packaging and knowledge of how to handle a shipment correctly," says a spokesperson from World Courier.

Training and familiarising with new or evolving regulations is one of the ways World Courier is able to meet their BMS customers’ needs.

Box:
Biologics manufacturing may not be the cure for everything

Despite a stellar year in 2006, Singapore manufacturing reports have showed that the BMS sector has been slowing down, pulling overall manufacturing figures into the red.

According to an EDB report, the biomedical manufacturing cluster registered a 34% decline at the end of 2007, the highest decrease across the industries. This was due to a lower production of active pharmaceutical ingredients caused by plant maintenance shutdown and different product mix, government reports said.

Industry watchers however remain positive, buoyed by the industry's exceptional performance in 2006. The manufacturing output grew strongly to S$23 billion in 2006, an unprecedented 30% increase over 2005. Within a short span of six years, the manufacturing output has grown almost fourfold from the year 2000. Pharmaceuticals account for 91% of the total output while Medical Technology maintained its output levels at over S$2 billion. Employment expanded by 4% to reach 10,571. Of the total jobs in the BMS manufacturing sector, 62% are in the Medical Technology sector. The target is for Singapore’s BMS industry to reach S$25 billion in manufacturing output and an employment of 15,000 by 2015.