Shipping and logistics giant DHL Group is earmarking 2 billion euros ($2.2 billion) to bulk up its healthcare supply chain operations in order to meet growing demand from the biopharma industry.
Half of the investment will target the Americas with the remaining half split between the Asia Pacific region and Europe, Middle East and Africa regions, the company said in an April 7 press release. The company plans to invest the total sum over the next 5 years.
The move comes as DHL looks to "address growing customer demand" for logistics services relating to cell and gene therapies, clinical trial supplies and medical devices, among other life sciences fields, DHL said.
A portion of the investment will go toward the establishment of "pharma hubs" for multi-temperature shipment routes, DHL added. The company further plans to expand cold chain capacity at current facilities and commission new temperature-controlled delivery vehicles.
Additionally, DHL said it is adding new IT systems that support end-to-end tracking of temperature-sensitive packages to ensure product integrity and regulatory compliance.
“Our strategic investment in life sciences and healthcare is driven by our customers' mission: delivering essential, often life-saving products to people in need,” Oscar de Bok, chief executive of DHL Supply Chain, said in the release.
The announcement comes just a week after DHL acquired CRYOPDP, a Nashville-based logistics company that provides courier services for the biopharma industry, for an undisclosed price. CRYOPDP operates in 15 countries, handling more than 600,000 shipments per year to 134 countries.
DHL, like others in the supply chain industry such as Cencora’s World Courier division, boosted its investment in cold chain operations in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in order to meet storage and transportation needs for vaccines. Pfizer’s mRNA-based shot needed to be stored at negative 94 degrees Fahrenheit, and Moderna’s vaccine (also mRNA-based) required a storage temperature of negative 4 degrees Fahrenheit.
Back in 2022, DHL pumped $400 million into expanding its pharmaceutical and medical device supply chain network, including temperature-controlled storage infrastructure.