The pharmaceutical distributor Alliance Healthcare has launched its new corporate headquarters and logistics complex for Spain in Viladecans (Barcelona), where it will also centralize the facilities of Alcura, a global center of excellence for clinical trials and patient support programs for the entire group, with more than 500 clinical trials per year.
The project located in the Ca n'Alemany industrial park will serve to cover, from Spain, the logistical and development needs of clinical research promoted by pharmaceutical laboratories worldwide. And, specifically, the new Alcura hub will support research teams, pharmaceutical companies, and contract research organizations (CROs).
The new facilities also improve the services of Alloga, its subsidiary for the distribution of cryopreserved drugs, those that must be stored at a temperature of -80ºC and are key to distributing drugs such as COVID vaccines. Until now, Alloga had three freezers in Toledo. Likewise, areas have been allocated for the conservation of medicines at -20ºC and between 2ºC and 8ºC, the usual temperature for many drugs.
The general director of Alliance Healthcare, Javier Casas, highlighted the role that the pharmaceutical distribution sector has been playing, and especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, to guarantee the functioning of the entire supply chain and ensure healthcare supply. Specifically, regarding the company, he recalled that it was born more than a hundred years ago, in 1919, in Zaragoza when a group of pharmacists founded the Sociedad Anónima Farmacéutica, until today when it has become part, since last June, of the AmerisourceBergen group, which acquired this pharmaceutical division from Walgreens Boots Alliance for about 5,413 million euros (6,275 million dollars).
The logistics center can store up to 30,000 product referencesWith an investment of 35 million euros, the new 25,300 square meter facilities meet Alliance Healthcare's objective ofincrease its capacity by 40% and drug references by 45%. In total, with a capacity to house up to 20,000 pallets, it will manage more than 30,000 references available to pharmacies and laboratories. Currently, Alliance Healthcare employs about 900 people in Viladecans andsupplies some 7,000 clients, including 2,500 pharmacies in Catalonia.
The logistics center is equipped with the highest automation to gain efficiency. The project, responsibility of SSI Schaefer, is equipped with the most innovative logistics technologies such as the A-Frame automatic dispenser to perform a unitary picking of products that can reach a performance of up to 32,000 products per hour. With this infrastructure, the distributor will be able to manage 80% of the 60,000 daily order lines from pharmacies through fully automated systems that provide greater speed and efficiency.
At the official inauguration ceremony of the facilities in Viladecans, Steven H. Collis, executive chairman of AmerisourceBergen, highlighted the importance of pharmaceutical distribution and Alliance Healthcare's positioning in Catalonia. Currently, Alliance Healthcare has a 25% market share in the Catalan market. Collis agreed with the Minister of Health, Carolina Darias, ---also present at the inauguration ceremony--- that public-private collaboration "is very important" after the health crisis and assured that the health sector is always exposed to new challenges. Darias insisted on the joint work between administrations and the business fabric of the health sector during the pandemic and claimed that Alliance Healthcare kept the supply chain operational, thus avoiding the "shortage" of medicines in pharmacies.