PHSE, leader in temperature-controlled pharmaceutical logistics, strengthens its presence in the asian market through the acquisition of indian company Rapida Time and Temperature LLP specialized in the transport of clinical trials and active pharmaceutical ingredients (API)
Following the recent acquisition of uk company Tek Freight, PHSE continues its internazionalization plan which will lead to more other acquisitions by the end of the year
PHSE, leading company in pharmaceutical logistics, controlled by Eddy De Vita and participated by NB Aurora – which indirectly holds a 30,8% stake – in addition to the three founding partners, announces that it has acquired the control of Rapida Time and Temperature LLP, Indian company based in Mumbai, specialized both in the international and domestic transport mainly of clinical trial supplies and Active Pharmaceutical ingredients (API).
The acquisition of Rapida Time and Temperature will allow PHSE Group to strengthen its presence in Asia, where it is already present through its office in Singapore, so entering a fast-growing and strategic market for the healthcare sector, given the presence in the area of many manufacturers and research centers. The transaction has been closed just two months after the acquisition of the UK company Tek Freight, confirming a strong acceleration in the expansion of PHSE’s international platform, one of the strategic objectives of the co-investment agreement reached at the end of 2019 between the entrepreneur Eddy De Vita and NB Aurora aimed to take over the control of PHSE.
With a market share of about 50% in Italy and over 5000 shipments managed daily, PHSE is today a leader in the transport and distribution of hospital and home care pharmaceutical products at controlled temperatures. Internationally, PHSE is one of the few providers specializing exclusively in the biopharma segment and in the management of shipments (by air, land and sea) of pharmaceutical products and clinical trials in support of clinical research, at any temperature required. PHSE, which today has more than 350 employees, 18 branches with GDP warehouses and a proprietary fleet of more than 330 new generation vehicles, closed 2020 reaching +14% in turnover (compared to 2019) and for 2021 it expects to achieve further significant growth, driven both by the new achieved acquisitions and a strong development of traditional businesses like Global Forwarding and Home Care, as well as the starting of new activities like the transport of radiopharmaceuticals.
PHSE, after obtaining the required authorization, has in fact started from January 1 the transport of radiopharmaceuticals, mainly used in the field of oncology, in particular towards the United States and the United Kingdom by air, with the ability to ensure the administration to the patient within 48 hours. This type of transport requires a high level of specialization and the company has made targeted investments for this activity, buying a set of dedicated vehicles with low environmental impact that, to date, represents about 10% of the total fleet, with the aim of further increasing them by the end of the year. These strategic choices confirm PHSE’s vocation as leading company specialized in the pharmaceutical sector, aiming at the continuous research of innovative solutions able to increase efficiency and digitalization of the hospital channel.
Eddy De Vita, Chairman of PHSE, commented: “We are very satisfied to have closed this transaction which marks the beginning for PHSE of an important development phase of its presence in a highly strategic market for the global pharmaceutical industry such as Asia. We are looking at other interesting opportunities that could be realized by the end of the year.
The overall attention to the pharmaceutical logistics sector grew exponentially during the Covid-19 pandemic, when healthcare systems all around the world were forced to face the need to rely on an efficient transport network both for the distribution of temperature-controlled drugs, such as vaccines, as well as home-based hospital treatments. In this context, PHSE has been able to further consolidate its position as the only Italian company specialized in the transport of Temperature-Controlled Drugs, Global Forwarding, Clinical Trials, APIs and Radiopharmaceuticals, also thanks to the partnerships established in Italy and worldwide with some of the most important pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical brands in the sector, including Pfizer, Janssen, Astrazeneca, Roche, Merck, MSD, Grifols, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Eli Lilly and Bristol Myers Squibb”.
Graham Inglis, Director of PHSE International, added: “The addition of Rapida Time and Temperature’s capabilities to our existing network further strengthens both our offerings to global pharmaceutical manufacturers and our presence in Asia. We accessed a new Asian market, the Indian one, which has become hugely important to the pharmaceutical industry in recent years. I am convinced that PHSE will be an important logistical enabler for the expansion of the Indian pharmaceutical market by supporting global export and its fast-growing sectors, including biotech”.
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