Life Sciences In The Air
David Y. Bang is CEO of LifeConEx LLC, a joint venture between DHL Global Forwarding and Lufthansa Cargo. LifeConEx is the only industry-specific provider of integrated end-to-end temperature controlled transportation solutions for the life sciences industry.
Lufthansa Cargo and DHL Global Forwarding saw there was a need for temperature-sensitive cargo service for the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and life-science industries, and in 2005 decided it would be smart to start a company specializing in just such transport—they haven't looked back since.
LifeConEx, which is short for Life Sciences, Connectivity & Control, Expediting & Expertise, says today it's the only industry-specific provider of integrated end-to-end temperature controlled transportation dedicated to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and life-science industry.
There is some debate in the scientific community whether life sciences and biotechnology aren't actually the same thing.
In the most simplified of terms, both use living organisms to make, or aid in making products or processes.
Some of the applications range from the production of pharmaceuticals and chemicals to fuels and plastics.
The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity said "Biotechnology means any technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms, or derivatives thereof, to make or modify products or processes for specific use."
Plantation, Florida-based LifeConEx says their premise is that through the security of better transportation, monitoring, management, documentation and information, as well as integrating processes of the airlines, ground handlers and freight forwarders, pharmaceutical and life-science companies will reap a better return on their investments.
The customers have access to much of the data 24/7, and LifeConEx says it covers most of the major airports in the world.
LifeConEx takes measures to provide the aforementioned features, reducing risks of transport when pharmaceutical and life-science products become ready to ship, regardless of their stage - sometimes living biological elements, raw materials or finished products in development, trial or marketing phases.
"LifeConEx's unique value proposition is to integrate the processes from the airlines, forwarder, and ground handlers," Shauna Biersey, a company spokeswoman told FlyingTypers. "Additionally, LifeConEx has a 24/7 Life Science Service Center, where each shipment is monitored and documented at each pre-determined milestone."
LifeConEx would only say the 50-50 joint venture generates revenues "in the millions," and that it's seeing strong double digit year-on-year sales growth. The company wouldn't provide an outlook for the current year, offering only "the biotechnology sector has a huge growth potential for LifeConEx as well as potential for our parent companies."
It also noted that the biological market is growing at twice the rate of the traditional chemical-based pharmaceutical market and that there has been a regulatory agency push for better quality in the transit chain.
That should simply equate to more solutions for the pharma-bio-life industry, and added business for LifeConEx in future.
George Frey
