Panalpina has obtained another Good Distribution Practice (GDP) certification in Singapore which has come hot on the heels of the freight forwarder gaining GDP at its facility in Bogotá in August.
The GDP quality assurance standard includes stringent requirements for the handling, storage and distribution of pharmaceuticals. The number of Panalpina locations globally with GDP certification now stands at 32.
The GDP certificate was issued by Singapore’s Health Sciences Authority (HSA) following a rigorous inspection. To be granted GDP certification in Singapore, companies must demonstrate compliance with HSA GDP guidelines, which are based on the most important global guidelines.
With the new GDP certification, Panalpina is authorised to store, handle and distribute medicines in the local market and to ship them abroad on behalf of pharmaceutical companies.
Panalpina’s managing director for Singapore and Malaysia, Gino Marzola said: “The pharmaceutical sector in Singapore has developed enormously since 2000 and the companies are increasingly outsourcing the logistics for their highly sensitive products.
“Healthcare supply chains have a zero-fault tolerance, and the GDP certification for our brand-new facility demonstrates that we can meet that requirement. We also give pharmaceutical companies access to a global, quality distribution network for their products.”
Panalpina said the pharmaceutical sector is particularly important to Singapore and according to the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) – eight of the top 10 pharma companies have a presence in the city-state, manufacturing four of the top ten drugs by global revenue. In 2016, the sector produced more than S$16 billion worth of products for global markets.
