Catalent Pharma Solutions has launched FastChain service for managing global clinical supplies. FastChain is a continuous GMP approach to clinical supply management that decouples primary packaging from secondary packaging and enables the final assembly, labeling, and distribution of clinical supplies on a regional basis.

The company says that this approach reduces the need to pre-package bulk supplies far in advance of the study start, creates the ability to pool supplies across protocols, and has the potential to reduce clinical waste from upwards of 200% or more to less than 20%.

The service allows investigator sites to receive only the clinical supplies they need to meet actual patient demand within a matter of days rather than weeks. Furthermore, mid-study changes such as revised dosing schedules or the addition of countries and clinical sites can be accommodated.

Catalent said it will continue to make investments in its facilities worldwide to include specialized packaging lanes and integrated systems and processes to support demand-led studies and will make the FastChain service available for both ambient and cold-chain studies on a global basis.

Source: Catalent