DHL has announced the launch of Tokyo-based Clinical Trial Logistics Hub following the successful implementation of its fi rst customer, a leading global pharmaceutical company. DHL’s Clinical Trial Logistics Hub is located in Yashio, Shinagawa-ku and has been providing services since May 2007.

The hub is the fi rst of its kind in Japan to be operated by a Third Party Logistics (3PL) provider and specifi – cally designed to meet the logistical needs of pharmaceutical companies conducting clinical trials in Japan. In the hub, DHL Exel Supply Chain offers pharmaceutical companies warehousing and transport, streamline track and trace capabilities, enhance quality performance management, and improve operational processes strictly managed under the policies and procedures dictated by the pharmaceutical industry’s established standards.

The operations can handle clinical trial materials in two temperature zones (temperature: 2-8°C and 15-25°C) with strict controls for adherence to tolerances and automatic alarms and backup procedures and equipment. DHL also offers customised cold-chain packaging to maintain temperature tolerances during material dispatch to the investigator.