Standards organisation, BSI is collaborating with pharmaceutical logistics network, Poseidon to bring greater quality and certainty to the global distribution of medicines and vaccines by developing and executing a multi-modal compliance and standards programme to help promote, monitor and assess adherence to the good distribution practice guidelines that support global pharmaceutical logistics.

The programme is relevant to pharmaceutical shippers and their end-to-end distribution partners. It will interpret the prevailing local and international GDP regulations and guidelines for each of the main long-haul transport modes and provide a full range of GDP support, standard development, assessment and training services.

"The respective strengths of BSI and Poseidon will combine to produce a collaborative, industry-wide GDP compliance capability that is designed to bring best practice to this industry", explains Courtney Soulsby (pictured), sector development director, healthcare at BSI. “The new programme will provide a wide range of standards guidance, support and assessment covering all aspects of GDP compliance including quality assurance, risk-management, cold-chain best-practice, training, and standards."


Good distribution practice

Good distribution practice describes the minimum standards that a wholesale distributor must meet to ensure that the quality and integrity of medicines is maintained throughout the supply chain.

Compliance with GDP helps ensures that:

• medicines in the supply chain are authorised in accordance with legislation;
• medicines are stored in the right conditions at all times, including during transportation;
• contamination by or of other products is avoided;
• an adequate turnover of stored medicines takes place; and that
• the right products reach the right addressee within a satisfactory time period.

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