Early phase
Biomarker and first-in-human study logistics
Early-phase work where sample condition decides whether the data is usable. Collections are planned around the sampling schedule, not the other way round.
What goes wrong
01
In early-phase work the sampling schedule is the study. A pharmacokinetic series taken at fixed intervals is worth nothing if one of the samples degrades in transit, and the subject is not coming back to repeat it.
02
Collection windows are short and they are not negotiable. A courier that arrives an hour late has not inconvenienced anyone. It has removed a timepoint from the dataset.
03
First-in-human work runs under scrutiny. Every part of the chain gets examined if a result looks wrong, and transport is the first place people look because it is the part nobody watched.
Early phase
- Schedule-led routing
- Short collection windows
- Sample condition
What we do about it
How the work is set up.
04 points
01
Routing built around the sampling schedule
The collection times come from the protocol. We plan the route to meet them instead of asking the site to hold samples until a scheduled round arrives.
02
Short collection windows
Where a timepoint has to leave the site within a defined period, that window is what the booking is made against.
03
Handling matched to sample condition
Packing chosen for the sample type and the journey, because for biomarker work the condition on arrival is the entire value of the shipment.
04
Handled to dangerous goods rules where they apply
Trained handling for biological material and anything moving under regulated transport rules.
Questions
Asked by teams in this position.
Not covered here? Send us the detail and we will answer it directly.
Can you collect at fixed times through the day?
That is the normal shape of this work. Send us the sampling schedule and the sites involved and we will tell you what is workable before you commit to it in a protocol.
What happens if a timepoint is missed?
We would rather tell you in advance that a schedule is not achievable than agree to it and miss a timepoint. If something goes wrong on the day, you hear about it while there is still time to react, not afterwards.
Do you handle biological substances under dangerous goods rules?
We have dangerous goods trained personnel for regulated and sensitive consignments. Tell us the classification your material ships under and we will confirm the handling.
Contact
Tell us about your early phase work.
Send the product, the temperature range and the schedule you are working to. We will come back with how we would run it and what it costs.