Innovating Healthcare Logistics: An Exclusive Interview with Cedric Picaud, CEO of CRYOPDP by Biz Tech Outlook
CRYOPDP - We are expanding our geographic coverage to efficiently serve global clients
What is CRYOPDP, and what services does your company provide?
CRYOPDP is an experienced logistics company that specializes in transporting sensitive and time-critical life-saving goods. We prioritise excellence through rigorous quality control and critical time control, ensuring that your goods are safely delivered, on time, and in perfect condition. At CRYOPDP, we understand the critical importance of your life-saving products, and we want you to trust that they are in the hands of dedicated logistics experts. With us, you can expect a stress-free experience, knowing that we are temperature-controlled specialists with a primary focus on the health sector. Your peace of mind is our priority.
CRYOPDP offers tailor-made and value-added solutions to our clients, always considering their needs and goals, making it possible to meet the most critical demands at global level. The main difference is our team – We are dedicated to maintain the highest quality standards, ensuring that, at the end of the day, we can make a difference in a patient’s life or even save one.
Tell us about your exceptional career and successful journey as an entrepreneur.
I started my career at the age of 22. When I started my logistics company, which helped me financially to gain my master’s degree in management. That was my first real-time work experience, and after a couple of years, then due to some personal reason I had to join DHL, where I worked for 14 years and gained my professional experience. During my time there, I held several management positions, one of which was leading their life sciences initiatives across 33 countries. Most of my career has been within the life sciences logistics space, and that helped me ultimately where I am today, serving as CEO of CRYOPDP, a leading provider of innovative temperature-controlled logistics solutions to the clinical research and cell and gene therapy markets.
What drove you to start CRYOPDP in the healthcare and scientific industries, where the goal is to improve patients’ lives through supply chain solutions and innovative therapies?
The genesis of CRYOPDP has always been intrinsically linked to the science and healthcare industries, with a steadfast commitment to the noble goal of saving patients’ lives. When contemplating this industry, we profoundly grasp that the paramount objective is the enhancement and preservation of patients’ lives through groundbreaking and tailored drug therapies. It is the aspiration that propels companies in this sector, inspiring relentless efforts to surmount challenges and advance the frontiers of scientific inquiry and human well-being.
However, to breathe life into this vision, we must embrace the entirety of the value chain. Within this complex ecosystem, various stakeholders play pivotal roles. Pharma and Biopharma entities are undeniably critical, research laboratories are equally indispensable, but let us not forget that patients lie at the heart of this intricate process. Dependence upon temperature-controlled supply chain and logistics companies is imperative. Devoid of the logistical and supply chain support, we would be unable to complete the value chain. At CRYOPDP, our unwavering focus remains centred on delivering temperature-controlled logistics and supply chain solutions to the clinical research and Cell and Gene therapy communities. We are resolute in our commitment to ensuring that, ultimately, our work contributes to the preservation and betterment of lives.
What pivotal experiences and achievements from your past have had a significant impact on your journey?
In 2000, one of my managers at one of my previous companies in Belgium promoted me to the position of Head of the Life Sciences Industry to manage a large portion of the company with a team spread out in 33 countries. I was 30 years old and deemed rather young for the role, but this manager took on the risk of promoting me and presenting me with great responsibility. In return, I ensured that I delivered the best results I could and worked extremely hard to bring the company to a strong position as a global leader in clinical trial logistics.
The lesson I learned through this experience was about the management of talent. It’s important to give a chance to somebody that you identify the person is potential. It’s also equally important that you not only think about the short-term comfort zone of having great talent that is delivering successful results in his or her current position, but also that you focus on the long-term talent developments of that individual that could also be beneficial for the company.
Do you believe you have achieved all that you desired? What keeps you driven and determined in your work?
At CRYOPDP, we are already charting a successful course, and when considering our future plans, I must emphasize the growing demand for the creation and implementation of innovative solutions, a trend that has been steadily on the rise year after year.
In the past couple of years, we have vividly illustrated how the healthcare industry occasionally faces unexpected challenges that demand swift responses. During the pandemic, CRYOPDP, leveraging our expertise in temperature-controlled logistics, had to mobilize rapidly. In record time, we developed and implemented the DtP solution, a direct-to-patient approach aimed at ensuring the continuity of clinical trials amidst the pandemic’s disruptions. Today, the decentralization of clinical trials has firmly taken root in the market, and the DtP solution is an indispensable tool in this landscape.
This, for me, represents the essence of my role and my team’s role as a company deeply dedicated to supporting the health industry and prioritizing the well-being of patients. We are committed to continually adjusting, adapting, and developing innovative solutions in alignment with the evolving needs of our valued customers, partners, and, above all, the patients we serve.
What are your individual and company’s plans going forward? What does the future hold for you and CRYOPDP?
The pharmaceutical industry has been evolving in many ways over the past 50 years, and one of the most notable is its globalisation. Innovative drug products are being developed worldwide and are marketed and sold to a much larger proportion of the global population. The clinical trial industry is globalising alongside its big sister pharma, and both sectors require global logistics partners that can serve their growing and constantly evolving demands.
When thinking about the market, we know that the Pharma and Biotech industries are innovation leaders, and with innovation and life matters topics faces daily challenges. Fortunately, CRYOPDP is well-positioned to meet these trends.
Our biggest challenge is to be at the forefront of customer satisfaction – we need to be able to meet our customers’ pace and to be able to satisfy their needs regarding new solutions, new services, and new protocols. With its constant change, discoveries, and new therapies implementation, we need to be able to fulfil them and meet their requirements.
We overcome this by being up-todate with new trends and ways of working. We cannot be stuck with old trends; we need to be able to find alternatives and not be afraid of leaving our comfort zone. Only then we can any kind of progression. So, we read, we explore, we investigate, we train our people and we try to have the best of the best with us. This way we can embrace challenges and be able to overcome them.
And when it comes to challenges and dealing with patients’ lives, there’s no room for error. It’s all about service quality, making sure the life-saving goods are distributed not only on time, but within the right specifications, and at the right temperature. Providing the same service quality globally is critical for the pharma market, and CRYOPDP is up to the task. To serve the life science industry’s global needs, CRYOPDP has 35 facilities across 16 countries and a wider network that spans more than 135 countries.
Please introduce yourself and the team that supports you in achieving the heights you aspire to reach.
I hold a strong belief in the phrase “Nothing is impossible unless you think it is”. This mindset has been pivotal in my journey to success. I kickstarted my career at 22 by founding a logistics company to support my master’s degree in management. After gaining valuable experience over approximately 14 years in a company, I continued my passion for learning. I earned an MBA in 2012, pursued a Certificate in Strategy at HEC Paris in 2016, and furthered my knowledge in innovation with a program at INSEAD Paris in 2021. I firmly believe that staying informed about new trends and ideas is essential for personal and professional progress.
As a company, are dedicated to providing solutions for the logistics of temperature-sensitive products in the life sciences and healthcare markets to benefit the health of people around the world. We are pretty lucky, because on a daily basis, we have the opportunity to help people by shipping life-saving drugs to those in need. We’re also able to help drive the world of clinical research every day by moving these highly sensitive shipments, which I think is a very positive contribution to humanity.
What is nearing significant changes are expected, and how is your company preparing to face these changes?
At CRYOPDP, sustainability is a top priority. We’re actively reducing our carbon footprint while strategically expanding our geographic coverage to efficiently serve global clients, adapt to regional needs, and contribute to sustainability goals. This allows us to maintain a strong local presence and navigate diverse regulatory requirements. Additionally, we’re committed to technological advancements, prioritising innovations such as optimising routing, offering real-time tracking, leveraging data analytics, and enhancing cold chain management. These solutions ensure efficient and reliable healthcare logistics, benefiting clients and partners worldwide.
I hold a strong belief in the phrase “Nothing is impossible unless you think it is”.
It’s important to give a chance to somebody that you identify the person is potential.
