8 Cold Chain Couriers for Clinical Trials in 2026

Clinical trial materials rarely move at room temperature. Biological samples, investigational drugs, vaccines, and cell and gene therapies often need to stay within a narrow, sometimes cryogenic, temperature range from the moment they leave a site until they reach a lab, depot, or patient. A temperature-controlled clinical courier is the vendor responsible for that window: coordinating pickup, packaging, transit, and delivery so the shipment's condition — and the data or therapy inside it — stays intact across every leg of the route.

The companies on this list offer cold chain courier services for clinical trials, spanning temperature ranges from ambient to cryogenic, with capabilities that include GMP- and GDP-compliant depot networks, real-time shipment tracking, and direct-to-patient delivery. This is an unranked list — the order carries no judgment about quality or fit. Several also handle clinical trial last-mile cold chain work, taking shipments from a regional depot to an investigator site or a patient's home.

Biocair

Biocair focuses on cold chain logistics for the cell and gene therapy, clinical trials, pharmaceutical, and bioscience sectors, and states its network operates across more than 160 countries. The company offers services spanning general cold chain courier work, cryogenic transportation, and laboratory logistics, alongside GDP-compliant shipping and packaging designed to protect temperature-sensitive shipments end to end. Founded in 1987 and based in Cambridge, England, the provider also assembles dedicated project teams for cell and gene therapy consignments and for clinical trial logistics that involve multi-site collection and delivery.

CRYOPDP

CRYOPDP handles shipments across a temperature range from -196°C to +25°C, covering cryogenic, frozen, refrigerated, and ambient conditions for clinical trial materials, cell and gene therapies, and biological samples. Established in 1993, the company today operates as part of DHL Health Logistics, having previously been owned by Cryoport, and states it runs operations across 16 countries spanning the Americas, EMEA, and APAC. Its services are organized around clinical trial distribution, including central labs and cell and gene logistics solutions, temperature-controlled packaging, dry ice and liquid nitrogen supply, and direct-to-patient support.

Cryoport

Cryoport states it supports more than 650 active clinical trials in regenerative medicine, alongside a number of commercial cell and gene therapies, through its temperature-controlled supply chain platform. Founded in 1999 and based in Pont-du-Château, France, the company offers Cryoport Express dry vapor shippers, the Cryoportal logistics management platform, and Smartpak condition-monitoring technology for tracking shipments in transit. It also provides biostorage, sample processing, and shipping-system qualification consulting, working alongside its CRYOPDP and CRYOGENE brands as part of a shared temperature-controlled supply chain group.

Indicold

Indicold operates cold storage warehousing and temperature-controlled transportation across India, serving pharmaceutical, food, and chemical clients according to its own materials. Founded in 2019 and based in Delhi, India, the company describes an in-house technology stack for monitoring temperature, location, and humidity throughout the supply chain, aimed at addressing fragmentation in a still-developing local cold chain sector. Indicold has been expanding its automated warehousing capacity, including one of India's first frozen automated storage and retrieval facilities, and its work spans long-term cold storage alongside last-mile distribution for temperature-sensitive shipments.

Marken

As the clinical trials logistics subsidiary of UPS Healthcare, Marken offers direct-to-patient and direct-from-patient services, including a home-nursing network that can collect biological samples from a patient's home and ship them back for testing. Founded in 1980 and headquartered in Durham, North Carolina, the provider operates a GMP-compliant depot network worldwide and states it manages a high volume of drug and biological shipments each month across all temperature ranges. Marken also offers cell and gene supply chain services, kitting, and shipment-lane qualification support for sponsors and CROs running trials across multiple phases.

Optimize Courier

Optimize Courier concentrates on time-critical, expedited, and temperature-sensitive shipments, moving items ranging from clinical trial specimens to time-sensitive components with white-glove handling. Founded in 2010 and based in Marietta, Georgia, its service lines include cold chain logistics, clinical trial logistics, and international customs support. Optimize Courier was acquired by Life Couriers in 2024 and today operates under the Life Couriers brand as part of a broader healthcare and life-science logistics network.

Shanghai Shengsheng

Shanghai Shengsheng was an early entrant in China's biomedical cold chain sector, and its services span clinical trial logistics, drug and reagent delivery, and stem cell and cord blood transportation for life sciences, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical clients. The company describes a self-operated network paired with an in-house IT system for tracking temperature conditions across the supply chain. Founded in 2009 and based in Shanghai, China, Shanghai Shengsheng also supports integrated laboratory relocation projects for its life science customers.

Yourway

Yourway pairs premium courier services with clinical packaging and temperature-controlled storage and distribution, covering ranges from ambient room temperature down to liquid nitrogen at -180°C across its GMP-compliant depot network. Founded in 1997 and headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania, the company operates more than 20 depots worldwide, including locations across the Americas, Europe, and Asia, supporting primary and secondary packaging alongside ancillary-materials sourcing for clinical trial sponsors. Yourway has continued to expand its temperature-controlled capacity, including a flagship European depot in Dublin, Ireland.

Explore the full cold chain courier landscape

The companies above represent a portion of a much larger field.

Diligent's platform includes over 40 Temperature-Controlled Courier Vendors, many with Vendor qualification data available on demand. Book a demo to explore Diligent's full vendor discovery database.

This article is intended as an informational overview of vendors operating in this space. Inclusion on this list does not constitute an endorsement, recommendation, or qualification by Diligent.