Finding a Cure for Pharmaceutical Storage at a Research Lab

When you’re creating life-saving vaccines or drugs for diseases like cancer, diabetes, and multiple sclerosis, no supplies can go to waste. The biologic pharmaceutical market is rapidly expanding, and growth has left manufacturers stressed for storage capacity.

One leading pharmaceutical company was dealing with the consequences of their inadequate pharmaceutical storage. The compounds and raw chemicals needed to create biologic drugs must be stored in a temperature-controlled environment to prevent them from deteriorating or becoming inactive. In the past, the company had used vertical carousels, a common storage solution in the industry, to hold chemicals and finished samples, but that was no longer an option.

Growing Pains Spark Change

As the company grew, the allocated pharmaceutical storage area filled to capacity, and eventually supplies were stored in various locations around the lab and even in other facilities. Lab technicians had to search different areas of the lab to locate the materials needed for a given project. To make matters worse, upon moving into a new, expanded lab space, they discovered the ceiling height could not accommodate the vertical shelving they’d used previously.

With very specific storage requirements for temperature, humidity, and chemical resistance, the company wasn’t sure where to turn. Adding additional cooler storage would be capital-intensive and would increase ongoing maintenance and operating costs. But to stay competitive, they needed to be poised for even more growth.