Just like every other industry, the COVID-19 pandemic has been the largest curveball in recent history, creating a global and industry-wide shift impacting the way people will do business for years to come. One of the many obstacles all industries have faced during the COVID-19 pandemic is disruptions to the global supply chain, which affected the smooth operations of clinical trials and labs. Businesses had to work closely with couriers and logistics service providers to enact programs and protocols that ensure samples arrived on-time and at the proper temperature. Organizations like ACM Global Laboratories—a provider of state-of-the-art central lab services to clinical trials programs—strived to ensure that the Clinical Research operations worked smoothly. “We’ve also partnered with our clients and sites to reduce the risk of any impact by providing specialized training on how to properly pack shipments, coupled with enhanced tactics  to continuously monitor and track shipments on a daily basis,” begins Brian Wright, President, ACM Global Laboratories.

In a nutshell, the pandemic pushed ACM and the healthcare sector as a whole to be more flexible and adaptable, further optimizing business processes to support the needs of our clients worldwide. ACM’s purposefully patient-driven approach has supported the launch of thousands of new therapeutics to the market  over the course of half a century. We passionately work to serve our customers, embracing change within our organization and empowering our employees and partners to always drive towards excellence.

Talking about the company as a whole, ACM is a recognized leader in global clinical trials testing. Through wholly-owned facilities, subsidiaries, and a huge network of partner labs, ACM supports clinical trials in more than 65 countries. The organization’s full-time staff of laboratory experts perform more than 20 million tests annually, spanning all medical disciplines, including routine safety testing, bioanalysis, flow cytometry, pathology, assay development and validation, molecular diagnostics, toxicology, and more.

What makes the company stand out is its unique biological sample collection kits that are custom designed in-house, allowing to seamlessly meet the protocols of each specific clinical trial. The company also has a global team of logistics experts who track the status and location of every single package from the moment it leaves the investigator site to the instant it reaches the lab. “We offer all of the global logistics services that one might expect from a large central laboratory, including multiple carrier options, real-time sample tracking, access to a comprehensive shipping manifest, and various service option levels,” explains Wright.

ACM’s clinical trials testing and toxicology business segments combine to position ACM as one of the most dynamic central labs in the world. The company’s team uses that strength to remain focused on its mission of partnering with clients to bring health, healing, and hope to patients around the globe. Offering state-of-the-art global lab services with the feel and flexibility of a client’s favorite local lab, ACM’s advanced biological sample collection kits provide unique aesthetic and adaptability to meet the protocols of each specific clinical trial. In addition, utilizing the ACM client portal, clients are able to securely and instantly access their study-specific data anywhere in the world, at any point in the trial. This kind of approach is paramount to a successful trial and allows for constant study optimization and quick pivots where necessary.

ACM’s global logistics team and clinical data managers are an integral part of every trial team and help to ensure that logistical planning is integrated into the entire trial process, so the supply system aligns seamlessly with trial requirements and timelines. This close coordination of logistics will accelerate site readiness, minimize supply and distribution issues, and reduce the risk of delays. With strong clinical logistics support, we are able to focus resources on the patient and trial itself, with a larger, even more, profound impact of lowering total drug development costs, improving regulatory compliance, and reducing overhead costs.

Since opening its doors in 1975, ACM has been working closely with its clients at every point of their clinical trial, from routine safety testing and bioanalytical support to flow cytometry services or other specialized laboratory testing. Throughout the pandemic, ACM supported over 550  clinical trials and initiated support of over 105 new clinical trials across more than 20 therapeutic areas, including neurology, dermatology, psychiatry, infectious disease, oncology, genetics, and more. As experts worldwide continue to develop COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutic compounds, ACM stands ready to support and optimize these trials. An instance that portrays the company’s value proposition is when ACM recently partnered with industry leaders to develop a vaccine candidate, which is currently the only inactivated vaccine candidate in clinical trials against COVID-19 in Europe. Leading the charge with a suite of central laboratory services, ACM successfully supported the vaccine through Phase 3, thanks to a flexible and consultative approach.

Over the years, ACM has built a strong reputation in the industry by delivering clinical trials and support on-time and with the highest level of quality. In the future, ACM will continue to explore and implement new ways of provided the highest level of quality and service to clients. “Our investments will remain focused on equipping our business with the right people, processes, systems, and technology, to responsibly scale our operations so that we can continue to provide health, hope, and healing around the world,” concludes Wright.

“We offer all of the global logistics services that one might expect from a large central laboratory, including multiple carrier options, real-time sample tracking, access to a comprehensive shipping manifest, and various service option levels”

Brian Wright
Management 
President
acmgloballab.com