DHL partners local life-sciences incubator to provide cold chain logistics for biotech startups

[SINGAPORE] DHL Express Singapore has entered into a strategic partnership with Life Science Incubator (LSI) to strengthen support for Singapore’s growing life-science and deep-tech ecosystem.

Under the partnership, DHL Express will collaborate with LSI’s incubator and co-working laboratory facility, LSI@Elementum, to support new life-science and healthcare technologies for startups and small and medium-sized enterprises, research teams and industry stakeholders.

DHL Express will do so by providing such companies with dedicated logistics support and facilitating knowledge-sharing within the LSI community, said the logistics company on Friday (Sep 4).

As part of the partnership, DHL Express will also showcase its specialised healthcare capabilities at LSI@Elementum, including cold chain solutions, time-critical logistics and best practices for the handling of shipment.

This includes temperature-controlled packaging that provides ultra-low temperature protection of up to minus 196 deg C, capable of preserving the integrity of sensitive biological substances.

DHL will support the safe and efficient transportation of biological and healthcare shipments, such as blood samples, clinical trial materials and biologics under the UN3373 Category B classification through its DHL Medical Express service.

UN3373 is the official United Nations code used for biological substances posing a lower risk of infection in transport.

It will also provide dedicated pickup and drop-off services for LSI tenants, enabling greater convenience and access to DHL’s global logistics network.

In addition, the collaboration will lay the groundwork for providing businesses in the Biopolis and Buona Vista life-sciences cluster with logistics solutions for the life-sciences and healthcare industry.

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This will help reduce barriers for businesses to scale more effectively in global markets, said the company.

To do this, DHL will conduct workshops and training sessions to impart international trade knowledge, market entry strategies, supply chain management and cross-border regulatory requirements through DHL’s GoTrade programme.

Activities in the pipeline include introductions to DHL’s healthcare logistics solutions and international shipping requirements, and training on the handling of temperature-controlled packaging for life-sciences and healthcare shipments.

Christopher Ong, managing director of DHL Express Singapore, noted that logistics is “a critical part of the supply chain network for the life-science and healthcare industry, requiring extremely dedicated handling of time-critical and temperature-sensitive shipments”.

“As these innovators progress to commercialisation, many may encounter logistics challenges, from regulatory compliance to managing sensitive cross-border shipments,” he added.

“Through this partnership, we aim to bring specialised healthcare logistics expertise closer to where the innovation happens, enabling businesses to focus on developing the next breakthrough.”

The partnership falls under DHL Health Logistics, DHL Group’s global brand designed to provide faster and more reliable end-to-end supply chain solutions for the life-science and healthcare industry.

In Singapore and the Asia-Pacific, DHL continues to invest in healthcare logistics capabilities to meet rising demand for specialised supply chain solutions for the sector.

This includes the 10 million euro (US$11.6 million) Pharma Hub in Singapore, as the company expands its regional capabilities in advanced cold chain infrastructure and temperature-controlled facilities.