US temperature-controlled supply chain firm Cryoport has acquired Critical Transport Solutions Australia (CTSA), a provider of healthcare logistics management services, specialising in time- and temperature-critical technology for the medical and pharmaceutical industries.

The purchase price was US$5m. CTSA will become a part of Cryoport’s Cryo PDP business unit and will continue to be run by the current management team.

Acquiring CTSA’s distribution capabilities in Australia is expected to improve Cryoport’s position to gain market share in Asia Pacific as the number of clinical trials taking place in the region continues to increase.

The CTSA acquisition follows the opening of Cryoport Systems and Cryo PDP’s first jointly operated global logistics centre in Osaka, Japan, late last year and forms part of the company’s ongoing expansion strategy in Asia Pacific.

As regenerative therapies’ global emergence continues and trials evolve from clinical stage to commercial stage, Cryoport believes its enhanced global platform makes it a clear choice to support pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies in bringing regenerative medicine therapies to market.

Additionally, in January last year, Cryoport’s customer Novartis announced that Kymriah will be publicly funded following a recommendation from the Medical Services Advisory Committee (MSAC) for the treatment of eligible adult patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B cell lymphoma  in Australia. Novartis also announced an agreement with Cell Therapies to manufacture Kymriah at its production facility in Melbourne. Cell Therapies is an Australia-based, globally active commercial contract development and manufacturing company, specialising in cell therapy, gene therapy, regenerative medicine and cellular immunotherapy products.

“Adding this new country into Cryo PDP’s global network will enable the Cryoport group of companies to develop additional synergies in this specific country, providing end-to-end pharma and biopharma logistics to our global customers and the local players in Australia,” said Cedric Picaud, CEO of Cryo PDP. “By this additional geographical coverage, we are also anticipating the fast growing needs of our top strategic customers, to better serve their expanded activities in this zone and to be always closer to patients. As a strong customer and patient centric organisation our strategy is to continue to develop our geographical footprint.”

Jerrell Shelton, CEO of Cryoport, added: “Our acquisition of CTSA is what I like to refer to as a tactical acquisition with strategic impact. It is an accretive acquisition providing us with an important foothold in Australia, which is a top five country in Apac for clinical trials and a strategic location from which we can build our client base in the region. The Cryo PDP team has worked closely with the CTSA team over the past two years. In that time, CTSA has proven its professionalism, client focus and commitment to providing exemplary service. Combining Cryo PDP’s global distribution network with CTSA’s regional capability is expected to increase our revenue base and provide economies of scale. We are confident that CTSA and its able operating team will be a strong addition to the Cryoport company portfolio in Apac.”