Oximio strengthens African capabilities with transit depot in Kenya

With its new transit depot in Nairobi, Oximio, a clinical trial services provider that contributes to worldwide research to identify effective treatments and cures for all living creatures, is changing the landscape of clinical trials in Sub-Saharan Africa. The organisation, which is based in Kenya and serves as a logistical hub for East, Central, and West Africa, distributes clinical trial materials, comparator medications, and supplementary supplies to clinical sites across the continent.

Fully operational and licensed from November 2021, Oximio Kenya provides end-to-end supply chain solutions for global clinical trials, with the goal of drawing more sponsors and innovative technologies to the area in order to serve a bigger patient population. Services expand beyond storage distribution to handling end-to-end operations, from comparator sourcing and courier services to offering country-specific labelling and kit assembly, with the first projects entering the start-up phase last month.

Sponsors can save money on logistics by allowing Oximio Kenya to use their blanket clinical trial approval from the Kenya Pharmacy and Poisons Board (PPB), which allows them to send fewer consolidated exports to their central distribution warehouse. The facility has been approved as a transit customs warehouse by the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA). This allows imported consignments to be delivered directly to the depot, where customs clearance allows for continuous temperature control monitoring.

Timescales for the setup and delivery of clinical investigations are assured by appointing Oximio Kenya as Importer of Record (IoR). In comparison to the previous direct-to-site approach, research sites are now supplied faster, with decreased temperature excursion risk, consolidated consignments, and lower costs, thanks to improved courier options.

Oximio's depot is located near Limuru, twenty-five minutes away from the Nairobi CBD and two minutes away from the road linking Nairobi with the country's west. Rob van den Bergh, managing director of sub-Saharan Africa, Oximio said, "Our focus is to provide best-in-class supply chain solutions to increase efficiency, lower the research cost per patient and ultimately attract more sponsors, thereby offering a wider spectrum of clinical research into all regions."

Oximio's main cold-chain activities will be housed in the newly opened warehouse, which is built to satisfy worldwide standards. It is GxP-compliant and is meant to store items at temperatures ranging from +15 to +25°C, +2 to +8°C, -15 to -25°C, and -80°C. Investigational pharmaceuticals, medical devices, commercial medications, ancillaries, and other PPB-approved drugs are all stored within the facility.

"The clinical trial industry is one of the most heavily regulated, and Oximio is the only company providing clinical trial logistics support as a one-stop-shop for the sub-Saharan Africa continent via our local depot in Pretoria, South Africa, a partner depot in Egypt and now, our transit customs depot in Kenya," added van den Bergh.

Oximio Group, CEO, Krisztina Varga added, "Our intention is to team up with sponsors, CROs and CMOs, and together create opportunities to enable more clinical trials in the regions. This is a key differentiator and elevates the patient focus in sub-Saharan Africa."