Central Pharma joins CSafe’s network of partner pharma service providers to expand supply chain solutions for the cell and gene therapy market
Bedford UK and Monroe, OH – May 24, 2023 – CSafe, the largest active and passive temperature-controlled shipping solutions provider for the biopharmaceutical industry, and Central Pharma, a specialized service provider of manufacturing, packaging and storage for the cell and gene therapy (“CGT”) and broader biopharma markets, announced today a new partnership to provide a complementary service network to support CGT products.
The new partnership will provide expanded supply chain options for any CGT product, at any stage of development, with an initial focus on the UK and European markets.
Operating from more than 75 locations worldwide, CSafe is a proven, trusted partner for biopharmaceutical manufacturers seeking to navigate cold chain complexity, with a track record that includes precise temperature-controlled shipping of more than six billion doses of a leading COVID-19 vaccine, and 99.9% reliability across its cold chain portfolio. Central Pharma operates across UK and European markets with advanced AI software used within their specialist capabilities. From clean-room kitting to GMP filling and packing, they support warehousing storage and specialty logistics for a growing number of partners in the CGT industry.
“CSafe is excited to deepen our capabilities to serve the rapidly growing CGT market in collaboration with Central Pharma,” said CSafe CEO Patrick Schafer. “Central Pharma has earned the confidence of key CGT developers in the UK and the EU, with plans to expand their core capabilities to other markets. We know how important these therapies are to patients everywhere, and it’s our mission at CSafe to protect every shipment.”
“We’re excited to collaborate with CSafe in a sector we are deeply passionate about serving – the CGT market,” said Central Pharma CEO Alwyn Smit. “Leveraging CSafe’s consistent 40 year-history of reliability and performance, and the company’s full range of cold chain solutions, will only enhance our support for patient protection in the most complex and innovative area in medicine.”
CSafe Further Expands Its Digital Ecosystem with Enhancement of CSafe Connect and Launch of TracSafe Data Logger Suite
CSafe Connect enables a truly connected supply chain by bringing together product ordering, shipment analytics and customer support under a single login
MONROE, Ohio, January 10, 2023 – CSafe, a leading provider of a complete range of active and passive temperature-controlled shipping solutions for the pharmaceutical industry, announced today the launch of CSafe Connect and its new TracSafeTM line of data loggers, advancing to the next frontier of CSafe’s customer-focused digital ecosystem.
CSafe Connect is a recent evolution of CSafe’s cloud-based customer portal through which CSafe customers can place orders, track and manage shipments in real-time, log a support ticket, chat live with support staff, download product data resources and access web-based training.
CSafe Connect’s shipment tracking and analytics are enabled by the TracSafe suite of data loggers, available for single-use, reusable and real-time applications in most CSafe solutions including: CSafe RKN, CSafe RAP, CSafe APS, Softbox VIP and CGT Ultra parcels. The integrated data loggers and real-time analytics will be implemented across the remaining Softbox parcel and Silverpod pallet shipper lines later this year.
“We initiated this digital transformation journey three years ago and have kept a keen eye on the future as we continue developing this new cold chain digital ecosystem. What we are launching today is the next logical iteration of our offering and promise to provide customers what they need to ensure critical medicines are kept safe during their journey to patients,” said Patrick Schafer, CEO CSafe. “The combination of products, services and tools we offer today has the power to reduce customer product loss, create operational savings, increase speed of delivery and improve decision-making ability. And that’s just the beginning. We are committed to raising the bar for predictive insights, integrated decision-making and enhanced reliability across the pharma cold chain. I am excited about what we have planned for in 2023 and beyond.”
CSafe Expands Global Network Further into India with New Service Station in Hyderabad
CSafe has contracted with GMR in Hyderabad to provide active temperature-controlled containers locally for pharmaceutical shipments
MONROE, Ohio, November 17, 2022 – CSafe, one of the largest providers of a complete range of active and passive temperature-controlled shipping solutions for the pharmaceutical industry, held a grand opening celebration for the company’s new Hyderabad service station on Nov. 11, 2022.
India’s recent investment and commitment to the pharmaceutical industry via the planned Pharma City development in Hyderabad which is poised to be the world’s largest integrated pharma cluster demands consistent access to top quality temperature-controlled shipping solutions. “This is a monumental undertaking in India and one that we at CSafe are thrilled to support with a new local station to supply our high-performing RKN and RAP containers to the industry,” said CSafe Chief Commercial Officer, Seth Hertel. “The health care and life sciences market has been growing substantially over the past years in Hyderabad. The work at Pharma City will only increase that focus, which would underscore the need for a local presence by CSafe.”
CSafe partnered with GMR in Hyderabad to make active RKN and RAP containers available at the Hyderabad International Airport. The station was inaugurated by Honorable Chief Guest Shri. Jayesh Ranjan IAS, Principal Secretary to the Government of Telangana.
The celebration event attended by local pharmaceutical and logistics executives included product demonstrations, dinner and presentations from CSafe executives including Ravindra Rao, Director of Life Science Sales – India and Scott Garchar, Global Vice President – Active Sales.
For more information on leasing CSafe containers from our Hyderabad location, contact Ravindra Rao at rrao@csafeglobal.com.
CSafe Continues Expansion of Its Temperature-Controlled Shipping Solutions Portfolio with Introduction of Advanced Reusable Pallet Shipper
Loaded with innovation and technology, CSafeAPS provides superior temperature control and the industry’s only in-transit thermal capacity indicator
MONROE, Ohio, October 18, 2022 – CSafe, the largest provider of a complete range of active and passive temperature-controlled shipping solutions for the pharmaceutical industry, announced today the launch of its new advanced reusable pallet shipper, CSafeAPS.
The new CSafeAPS was engineered to provide reliable and customizable thermal protection at ambient, refrigerated and frozen temperatures. Rigorously tested against the most challenging ISTA 7D profiles, the CSafeAPS provides continuous protection for more than 120 hours.
In addition to delivering the highest level of thermal protection in a passive pallet shipper, the CSafeAPS features real-time data tracking of GPS location, cargo and ambient temperature, ambient humidity and pressure, shock, tilt and door open/close events. CSafe’s proprietary cloud-based shipment visibility platform enables live monitoring throughout the entire shipping journey, including the thermal capacity indicator, which displays the predicted remaining temperature protection by lane, providing risk mitigation and peace of mind that the product will reach the end destination uncompromised.
CSafeAPS was also designed with ease-of-use in mind. All units are delivered preconditioned, for simple load-and-go functionality. The unit is forkliftable from all sides and is optimized to fit four pallets of product on a standard wide-body cookie sheet with a double pallet.
“CSafe is committed to providing shipping solutions that meet the full range of pharmaceutical cold chain shipping needs,” said CSafe CEO Patrick Schafer. “From large volume diabetes drugs to small parcel vaccine shipments to ground-breaking individual cell & gene therapies, CSafe can provide the optimal solution to ensure medicines reach the patients who need them. Our CSafeAPS is another example of how we saw a need in the market and applied our industry-leading engineering and quality assurance expertise to deliver a solution with more advanced technology, ease of use and reliability than any other passive solution available today.”
CSafe and BioLife Solutions, Inc. announce partnership to expand supply chain solutions for the cell and gene therapy market
CSafe joins BioLife’s global partner network of cold chain solution providers using the evo® cold chain management platform
MONROE, Ohio and BOTHELL, Washington, Oct. 11, 2022 – CSafe, one of the largest active and passive temperature-controlled shipping solutions providers for pharmaceuticals, and BioLife Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: BLFS), a leading supplier of class-defining bioproduction tools and services for the cell and gene therapy (“CGT”) and broader biopharma markets, announced today a new partnership to provide a combined global service network to support CGT products, with a focus on enhanced reliability, security and quality.
CSafe joins BioLife’s global partner network of cold chain solution providers serving the CGT market. BioLife expects to support 10,000-12,000 evo shipments of CGT starting materials and manufactured doses over the next 12 months. The new partnership will provide expanded supply chain options for any CGT product, at any stage of development, from early clinical-phase trials to global commercial scale.
CSafe will bring even more of its highly reliable global reach to the CGT sector through this new alliance. Operating from 50+ service centers worldwide, the company is a proven, trusted partner for biopharmaceutical manufacturers seeking to navigate supply chain complexity, with a track record that includes shipping solutions for six billion doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.
“CSafe is honored to partner with the team at BioLife Solutions, whose range of CGT bioproduction tools and services is peerless in the market. We are excited to merge these exceptional tools and services with our expertise in global, reliable scaled delivery,” said CSafe CEO Patrick Schafer. “CGT is hitting its stride and needs global support. We know how important these therapies are to patients everywhere, and it’s our mission at CSafe to protect every shipment.”
“We’re excited to work with a global partner with a strong history of reliability and performance and a deep dedication to innovative therapies,” said BioLife Solutions CEO Mike Rice. “We have the best LN2 technology and cGMP storage facilities in the market, in addition to our other world-class CGT solutions, and we are confident our collaboration with CSafe will extend our reach and result in even more reliability and real-time service for CGT partners.”
CSafe Global Continues Investment in Cell and Gene Therapy Solutions with Addition of New Portfolio President
MONROE, Ohio, July 25, 2022 – CSafe Global, the innovation leader in temperature-controlled shipping solutions for the transport of life-enhancing pharmaceuticals, announced today that Amy DuRoss has joined the company as President, Cell and Gene Therapies (CGT).
In her new role, DuRoss will lead CSafe’s CGT solutions portfolio to support intelligent transport of high-value personalized therapies and vaccines to meet the unprecedented global supply chain transport complexity of CGT products.
Ms. DuRoss brings more than 25 years’ experience to her new position. Prior to joining CSafe, she was the co-founder and CEO of Vineti, an enterprise software platform used to digitize chain of identity and chain of custody requirements for CGT products. Earlier in her career, DuRoss held several prestigious positions including, Chief Business Officer at Navigenics, Chief of Staff for the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), and Co-Founder, Co-Author, and Executive Director of California’s $3B stem cell research ballot initiative.
“We are delighted to have Amy leading our CGT team. Her diverse experience in both corporate development, patient advocacy and entrepreneurship is exactly the right mix to drive innovation and superior solutions in this deeply complex supply chain,” said CSafe CEO, Patrick Schafer. “We expect to see significant strides forward in this portfolio under Amy’s strategic guidance.”
“I’m honored to have the opportunity to collaborate with the world-class team at CSafe Global in bringing a new standard of high-quality, high-value supply chain transport to the most exciting innovation area in personalized medicine, cell and gene therapies,” Ms. DuRoss said, “CSafe Global’s outstanding worldwide service network and proven expertise in robust and actionable analytics to drive supply chain efficiencies will hasten the industrialization of an emergent market that offers critical hope for an increasing number of patients in need.”
Ms. DuRoss earned her bachelor’s and two master’s degrees, including her MBA, from Stanford University. She serves on the boards of Biolife Solutions (BLFS), MJH, Americans for Cures, and the ARM Foundation and is a member of the Aspen Institute Global Network.
Softbox by CSafe Global Named Finalist in Fast Company’s 2022 World Changing Ideas Awards
Softbox by CSafe Global, the innovation leader in temperature-controlled shipping solutions for the transport of life-enhancing pharmaceuticals, has been named a finalist of Fast Company’s 2022 World Changing Ideas Award in the Company of the Year and Pandemic Response categories for the Ultra-Low Temperature (ULT) shipper designed to ship the first COVID-19 vaccine.
Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas Awards honor clean technology, innovative corporate initiatives, brave new designs for cities and buildings, and other creative works that are supporting the growth of positive social innovation, tackling social inequality, climate change, and public health crises.
As pharmaceutical companies began developing COVID-19 vaccines in 2020, the early results made it clear that the most promising vaccines would require not only deep-frozen transport temperatures, but also extended shipment durations to reach locations around the globe. At a customer’s request, the Softbox team began supporting the design of a highly specialized ULT shipper that could safely transport this critical cargo once it was approved for distribution. The ULT shipper allows the vaccines to maintain the required temperatures between -90°C to -60°C for at least 10 days if unopened. Upon arrival at the final destination, the box can be opened twice a day for up to three minutes each time to allow clinicians to secure vials needed for daily immunizations. By adding dry ice to the box as needed, the Softbox medium ULT shipper can maintain the integrity and viability of the vaccine vials inside for up to 30 days.
Now in its sixth year, the World Changing Ideas Awards showcase 39 winners, 350 finalists, and more than 600 honorable mentions—with climate, social justice, and AI and data among the most popular categories. A panel of eminent Fast Company editors and reporters selected winners and finalists from a pool of more than 2,997 entries across transportation, education, food, politics, technology, health, social justice, and more. In addition, several new categories have been added this year including climate, nature, water, and workplace. The 2022 awards feature entries from across the globe, from Switzerland to Hong Kong to Australia.
Fast Company’s Summer 2022 issue showcases some of the world’s most inventive entrepreneurs and companies tackling global challenges.
“The pandemic put the cold chain industry front and center on the world stage and the Softbox team rose to the challenge, supporting the development of a highly innovative shipper utilizing high performance insulation materials delivered in a robust and reusable construction to ensure the COVID-19 vaccine could be distributed globally and arrive at point of use sites with the vaccine’s quality and efficacy maintained,” shared CSafe Global Chief Technology Officer – Passive Solutions (former Softbox Systems CEO), Kevin Valentine. “I am proud to work with this amazing team of people and look forward to bringing more world changing ideas, products and technology to the market as part of the CSafe Global organization.”
“I am truly honored to be able to share in this recognition and congratulate every single member of the team at Softbox who worked on the design, manufacture and delivery of a truly world changing product,” said CSafe Global CEO, Patrick Schafer.
“We are consistently inspired by the novelty and creativity that people are applying to solve some of our society’s most pressing problems, from shelter to the climate crisis. Fast Company relishes its role in amplifying important, innovative work to address big challenges,” says David Lidsky, interim editor-in-chief of Fast Company. “Our journalists have identified some of the most ingenious initiatives to launch since the start of 2021, which we hope will both have a meaningful impact and lead others to join in being part of the solution.”
CSafe Global Expands Executive Team with Addition of Chief Human Resources Officer
Micki Turner joins CSafe Global as CHRO to further drive purpose-driven culture and expand diversity programs.
DAYTON, Ohio, May 6, 2022 – CSafe Global, the innovation leader in temperature-controlled shipping solutions for the transport of life-enhancing pharmaceuticals, announced today that Micki Turner has joined the company as Chief Human Resources Officer.
In her new role as CHRO, Turner will be responsible for developing and executing human resource strategy in support of the company’s ambitious growth goals, specifically in the areas of succession planning, talent management, diversity and inclusion, change management, organizational and performance management, training and development, and compensation. Her considerable expertise in change leadership will be instrumental as the company continues integrating the Softbox Systems organization, following the acquisition in December 2021.
Ms. Turner brings 20 years of progressive leadership in human resources across the aerospace, financial services and pharmaceutical industries. Prior to joining CSafe Global, she was an executive HR leader at GE Aviation responsible for seven manufacturing facilities producing commercial and military aircraft engine components. She provided strategic HR leadership to a global organization of 4,500 employees focused on driving talent and culture strategies, building organizational effectiveness, providing leadership development and coaching, and fostering diversity and inclusion. Earlier in her career, Turner held a variety of HR roles at GE Capital and Merck.
“We have ambitious goals for our business and our global team, which necessitates a strong, thoughtful and strategic HR leader to guide our talent strategy to support our growth journey,” said CSafe CEO, Patrick Schafer. “Micki’s combination of expertise in change management, leadership coaching and cultivating a purpose-driven culture will be essential to our success.”
Ms. Turner earned her Bachelor of Psychology from the University of Illinois and her master’s in human resources from the University of Minnesota.
CSafe Global expands executive team with addition of General Counsel
Koby R. Kreinbring, JD, joins CSafe Global as General Counsel to support aggressive company growth
DAYTON, Ohio, Apr. 12, 2022 – CSafe Global, the innovation leader in temperature-controlled container solutions for the transport of life-enhancing pharmaceuticals, announced today that Koby R. Kreinbring, JD has joined the company as General Counsel.
Mr. Kreinbring brings more than 20 years’ experience in corporate law with more than a decade in the life science industry. Prior to joining CSafe Global, he was the General Counsel for Merck Digital and the Merck Science and Technology Office for Merck KGaA where he was responsible for global legal matters including commercial contracts, mergers and acquisitions, regulatory/trade compliance, litigation, antitrust, corporate governance and much more. He also provided legal support to Merck’s global innovation hubs in China, Israel, the U.S., and Germany. Earlier in his career, Kreinbring held corporate legal roles with Sigma-Aldrich Corporation, HNI Corporation and Squire Patton Boggs.
In his new role as General Counsel and member of CSafe Global’s senior leadership team, Koby will be responsible for legal governance across the organization and ensuring CSafe’s interests are protected as CSafe expands its global offering, service network and extensive customer base. He will also lend his considerable expertise in M&A as the company continues its integration with Softbox Systems and evaluates future growth opportunities.
“As our company continues to grow organically and inorganically, it is imperative that we have strong legal guidance to protect our business, our employees and our customers,” said CSafe CEO, Patrick Schafer. “His depth of experience not only in the healthcare and life sciences space, but also in the digital space, makes him a tremendous asset to the future of our organization.”
Mr. Kreinbring earned his bachelor’s degree in International Business from Wartburg College, his MBA from St. Ambrose University and his Juris Doctorate from the University of Iowa College of Law.
CSafe Global Announces Appointment of New Board Member
Joe Newell joins board of directors as part of the company’s ongoing commitment to improving the cell and gene therapy supply chain
DAYTON, Ohio, Feb. 23, 2022 – CSafe Global, the innovation leader in temperature-controlled container solutions for the transport of life-enhancing pharmaceuticals, announced today that Joe Newell has been appointed to the company’s board of directors. With this appointment the Board will comprise 9 directors.
“We are pleased to welcome Joe to the CSafe board,” said CSafe CEO and board member, Patrick Schafer. “His vast experience from across the biopharma industry, including his deep understanding of the cell and gene therapies space, will be invaluable to CSafe as we grow our business in that sector and further our mission to safely deliver life-enhancing products to patients.”
“Joe is a pivotal addition to our board,” said Bill Mitchell, CSafe Chairman of the Board and Executive in Residence for Frazier Healthcare Partners. “Expanding our portfolio to meet the unique needs of the cell and gene therapy market has been a core strategic focus for CSafe. Joe’s expert guidance in this space will help accelerate our expansion of a truly client-centric solution.”
Mr. Newell has spent his near 30-year career in the pharmaceutical and life sciences industries. He most recently served as Chief Operations Officer for Atara Biotherapeutics, a pioneer in allogeneic T-cell immunotherapies for patients with serious diseases including hematologic cancers, autoimmune disease and solid tumors. At Atara he oversaw Process Sciences, Manufacturing, Quality, Program Management, Alliance Management, and Enterprise Services. Prior to joining Atara, Mr. Newell held leadership roles in manufacturing, operations, supply chain and logistics for multiple industry-leading drug development and pharma services organizations, including Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Amgen, Catalent Pharma Services and Cardinal Health. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Biology from California State Polytechnic University – Pomona.
“I am extremely excited to join the CSafe Global board and work with a seasoned and highly successful executive team,” said Newell. “Csafe is a mission driven company that leads with core values that I appreciate and a true passion for quality and service. The company is well-positioned to deliver an unmatched, holistic cell and gene therapy cold chain portfolio solution and distribution network to help ensure these critical life-saving therapies can reach the patients who need them.”