DHL Group already has an established Life Sciences and Healthcare business, contributing over EUR5 billion (US$4.58 billion) in global revenue in 2024.

Building on this, it said that the acquisition of CRYOPDP marks a "significant step" in DHL's commitment to enhancing its capabilities in specialized pharma logistics and expanding the breadth of its offering in the rapidly growing life science and healthcare sector.

CRYOPDP specializes in providing white-glove courier services essential to the sectors it serves.

With operations in 15 countries, CRYOPDP handles over 600,000 shipments per year and serves customers and patients in over 135 countries worldwide.

Going forward, DHL Supply Chain will further develop the potential of its Pharma Specialized Network solution by leveraging the newly acquired CRYOPDP's specialty courier expertise and the global air capabilities of DHL Express and DHL Global Forwarding.

The strategic partnership with Cryoport will combine DHL's global health logistics capabilities with Cryoport's industry-leading expertise in providing specialized solutions in a fast-growing life science and healthcare market segment.

It will also deepen DHL's relationship with all the Cryoport business units regarding specialized pharma.

"The acquisition of CRYOPDP is a pivotal move for our supply chain business as we aim to expand our Pharma Specialized Network to meet the evolving needs of clinical trials, biopharma, and cell & gene therapies, in addition to further increasing our footprint in the conventional pharma and life science healthcare segment," said Oscar de Bok, CEO of DHL Supply Chain.

"The acquisition of CRYOPDP and the extended partnership with Cryoport Inc. will enable us to deliver integrated end-to-end solutions, enhancing our service capabilities," he added.

Jerrell Shelton, CEO of Cryoport, said working together we will bring an enhanced set of supply chain solutions to meet companies' and patients' critical supply chain needs.

"This strategic partnership taps into the strong expertise of DHL's Supply Chain and CRYOPDP, presenting a substantial opportunity for Cryoport to further expand its reach to global growth markets such as Asia Pacific (APAC) and Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA)," Shelton said.

Meanwhile, DHL noted that the acquisition aligns with the Group's Strategy 2030, which emphasizes the importance of temperature-controlled networks, first and last mile specialty courier coverage, and integrated solutions.

CRYOPDP's capabilities will be instrumental in achieving these objectives and will help position DHL as a leader in providing comprehensive solutions for the pharma industry.

This strategic move is also expected to yield cost savings and improve overall service levels, especially leveraging DHL Express and DHL Global Forwarding air capabilities, ultimately enhancing DHL's footprint in the high-value advanced pharma sector. 

For Cryoport, the partnership with DHL will enable it to better execute its business in EMEA and APAC with a stronger focus on its core business in these regions. This will create even greater opportunities to offer highly targeted, top-tier services in answering market demand for its services and products.  

DHL said in the announcement that the deal and the outlined partnership are subject to regulatory approvals.