One of the top 20 global pharmaceutical companies worldwide used Almac's supply chain management expertise to save almost $5m per year in costs.

The client was conducting a Phase III trial to compare the efficacy, safety and tolerability of multiple doses of investigational medicinal product (IMP) with a comparator drug product for the treatment of diabetes.

The study was a randomised, double-blinded, parallel group trial. This was a truly global Phase III trial with 44 countries participating across Europe, the US, Latin America, Asia and Africa.

There were a number of significant challenges to maintain and optimise the IMP supply chain, including increasing 22 local depots were reducing flexibility, the shelf life could not be increased, and the protocol design allowed patients to dose maintain, reduce or escalate throughout the study duration, which made it challenging to forecast projected usage and associated demand across patients randomised into the study.