The pharmaceutical industry is entering a very different era of commercialization.

As more specialty therapies, biologics, and cell and gene therapies move through the pipeline, the challenge is evolving beyond just developing innovative products. Today, the struggle lies in getting those therapies to patients in a way that is reliable, scalable, and operationally sustainable.

This new reality is becoming especially clear in cold chain logistics. For manufacturers, cold chain readiness is becoming a much earlier consideration rather than a logistics decision.

According to recent reports, specialty medicines therapies designed for complex, chronic or rare conditions are expected to represent 70% of new launches through 2027. As these products become a larger share of the pipeline, the supply chain requirements are becoming more complicated too, as half of all products launched globally through 2027 are expected to require cold chain storage, compared with 37% between 2013 and 2017.

In the past, companies could often piece together different vendors across warehousing, transportation, regulatory support, and distribution. That model worked when therapies were less sensitive, supply chains were less specialized, and operational handoffs carried lower risk.

Now, the stakes are different.

Specialty therapies require tighter delivery windows, more specialized handling requirements, and far less room for disruption once a product leaves the manufacturing site.Commercialization and supply chain strategy are becoming increasingly interconnected decisions. A delay, visibility gap, or coordination issue within the supply chain can quickly create downstream challenges for providers and health systems. In some cases, it can delay therapy access for patients entirely.

Cold chain investment is becoming a commercialization differentiator

Cold chain investment starts with infrastructure. As more advanced therapies move toward commercialization, manufacturers are looking for partners with validated temperature-controlled capabilities that can support everything from refrigerated and frozen products to ultra-low and cryogenic storage.

Across the industry, this demand is driving investment in expanded capacity, specialized facilities, and more sophisticated monitoring systems designed to protect product integrity across markets. In our case, in the last several years, Cencora’s cold chain capacity has increased by 40% across Europe and continues to grow. Our Netherlands hub now has two cryogenic tanks and 12 ultra-low freezers to meet rising demand for advanced and specialty therapies.

Infrastructure sets the foundation, but execution is what ultimately gets therapies to patients. For temperature-sensitive therapies, safeguarding the product is the priority at every step, from how it is received and stored to how it is packed, transported, and ultimately delivered.

In addition to traditional single-use coolers, many manufacturers are now exploring reusable options to support sustainability goals, while cryogenic shipments can introduce an entirely different set of handling requirements.

Each solution and provider can have its own specifications for how containers are prepared, filled, managed, and returned, making packout strategy an increasingly important part of cold chain planning.

Temperature-sensitive therapies demand bespoke commercialization expertise

One of the biggest shifts happening right now is the move away from fragmented commercialization models.

As specialty and advanced therapies are high-cost and temperature-sensitive, companies need more than logistics. They need coordinated support across transport, storage, specialty distribution, and commercialization planning. This approach reduces handoffs, improves continuity, protects product integrity, and gives teams greater confidence as they navigate launch barriers across markets.

As more large pharmaceutical companies prepare to launch advanced and specialty therapies, the need is often less about one isolated service and more about how the full commercialization model works together. Transport, storage, specialty distribution, regulatory planning, market access support, and provider reach all need to be coordinated early enough to reduce friction once a therapy is ready to launch.

For emerging biopharma companies and first-time launchers, scaling often means finding a partner who can connect logistics, market expansion and operational support as needs evolve. In one common scenario, an emerging biopharma company may begin with a focused U.S. launch, then need to expand into Europe with coordinated transport from the manufacturing site, centralized regional storage, and an order-to-cash model that can support multiple countries.

These partnerships often begin years before launch, helping companies prepare for renewals, pipeline therapies and the operational demands of bringing specialty products to market.

This also plays out differently across regions. In the US, this means bringing together logistics, specialty distribution, vast provider networks and launch infrastructure. For Europe, this requires pairing deep product knowledge with local market expertise to support leaner, more efficient launch models that help retain control while navigating country-specific requirements.

The more operational complexity that can be simplified upfront through bespoke, integrated support tailored to product, launch strategy and market needs, the more developers can stay focused on advancing the therapy itself.

The expectations of the 3PL partner are changing alongside the market

The expectations manufacturers have for 3PL partners are evolving just as quickly as the therapies themselves.

Historically, 3PL providers were often viewed primarily through the lens of distribution and logistics execution. Today, the expertise needed is much broader, yet the margin for error is much smaller.

That shift is showing clearly in the challenges manufacturers are facing. According to GlobalData's 2025 survey, pharma executives cited increased demand, manufacturing discontinuation, shipping delays, cold storage, GMP compliance, and regulatory issues among the main factors creating supply chain challenges. These are not isolated logistics problems. They are commercialization risks that can affect cost, launch timing, provider confidence, and, most importantly, patient access.

The companies best positioned to navigate this shift will be the ones thinking about end-to-end commercialization infrastructure earlier and building supply chain strategies that can scale alongside the therapies themselves.

This shift is also changing what manufacturers expect from their commercialization and supply chain partners.

As advanced therapies scale, manufacturers will need partners that can bring together global reach, specialized pharmaceutical capabilities, and market-specific expertise without adding unnecessary complexity to the launch process.

The organizations that navigate that shift most effectively will likely be the ones thinking about commercialization infrastructure earlier, reducing operational fragmentation, and building supply chain strategies that can scale alongside the therapies themselves.