Alliance Healthcare Spain - October 14, 2021

The new corporate headquarters and logistics centre of Alliance Healthcare, a global healthcare solutions provider, belonging to the international group AmerisourceBergen, is located in the Ca n'Alemany industrial estate, in Viladecans (Barcelona). The new building is well connected, close to the airport and city of Barcelona, and is easily accessible from the port and the area’s main road and railway networks.

With an investment of 35 million euros, the new facilities occupy a surface area of 25,300 m², an increase of 40% in its surface capacity, and can accommodate up to 30,000 pallets. Likewise, the new distribution centre has 45% more pharmaceutical products.

With the new facilities, Alliance Healthcare increases its capacity to respond to demand for pharmaceuticals products and provide value-added services to community pharmacies, while also integrating, in these same facilities, services required to meet the many specialised needs of pharmaceutical laboratories and biomedical research centres around the world.

Increased logistics capacity

- Easy access. The new Alliance Healthcare headquarters are well connected, located in the Ca n’Alemany area (Viladecans), close to the airport and city of Barcelona, and easily accessible from the Port of Barcelona and the main road and railway network

- More pharmaceutical products and specialisation. 23,500 m², more than 30,000 pharmaceutical products and increased capacity for Alloga. The facilities are prepared for activities at temperatures of 15-25ºC and 2-8ºC, as well as secondary manufacturing processes, among other novelties

- Automation. Installation of semi-automatic picking systems that improve lead time in distribution processes. 80% of the lines are prepared automatically, providing greater speed and efficiency in the service. More than 60,000 order lines/pharmaceuticals are dispensed daily.

Clinical trial support

The new international hub for clinical trials will support more than 500 clinical trials started anywhere in the world

The Alliance Healthcare plant will also integrate the specialised solutions of its subsidiary, Alcura, whose activity focuses on providing resources and support services for the management of clinical trials, one of the business areas with the greatest growth potential. In this way, the new facilities have the capacity to provide solutions to all agents that are dedicated to R&D&I in the health industry, such as research teams, pharmaceutical laboratories and contract research organisations (CROs).

In addition, the new facilities have a clear global orientation as the new building houses the Alliance Healthcare International Hub for Clinical Trials, which is a centre of excellence for the group, and through which it is estimated that more than 500 clinical trials, started anywhere in the world, will pass annually.

In addition, the new Alliance Healthcare building is prepared to carry out secondary manufacturing processes for the pharmaceutical, healthcare, cosmetic and sanitary industries.

Alliance Healthcare will also cover another of its key lines of activity from the Viladecans plant, which it offers through its subsidiary, Alloga, a company dedicated to the distribution of cryogenic drugs, for vaccines and treatments for Covid-19. To date, the company had three freezers in Spain, in Toledo, which will now include an additional one thanks to the new facilities.

Comprehensive solution package

Another of the distinguishing factors of the new infrastructure is that it integrates services for pharmacies and solutions for the pharmaceutical industry and biomedical research in the same space, in order to provide a global solution to the market, through a comprehensive offer of services concentrated in a single space, including the management of clinical trials or the boost of sell-in operations, so that this results in improved pharmacy management and better services to the end patient.

The new headquarters facilitate synergies between distributors and other activities to support pharmacy staff

In terms of the role of the pharmacy, the new headquarters facilitate synergies between distributors and other activities to support pharmacy staff, which makes it possible for the pharmacy professional to develop their healthcare role more profitably and efficiently.

The new facilities have the technological resources and specialised services required to meet the needs of the market.

Sustainable building

The new facilities are also an example of circular construction, which is positive for the ecosystem, the economy and people, making it a healthy environment with a high economic, social and ecological value. Some of the plant’s most remarkable features include the fact that it is a 100% prefabricated structure that combines the most innovative construction methods, in addition to having the international LEED Gold certification for sustainable building.

Comprehensive pharmaceutical solution package

- Global offer of services. The different activities are concentrated in a single space, including the management of clinical trials, boost of sell-in operations, comprehensive patient care, pharmacovigilance and so on, in order to offer services to the industry, facilitate pharmacy management and, therefore, better serve the end patient.

- Pharmaceutical support. The new building facilitates synergies between distributors and other activities to support pharmacy staff, which, in turn, facilitates the development of the pharmacy professional in their healthcare role, their capacity to sell and, ultimately, the improvement in the management of their business.

- Tailor-made solutions. The new Alliance Healthcare building is set up to carry out secondary manufacturing processes for the pharmaceutical, healthcare, cosmetic and sanitary industries.

In addition, the materials used for the building have been selected with care with a view to reducing the pollution from erosion, sedimentation and dust, as well as to reduce waste and debris from the works, thus minimising the negative impact on the environment.

Sustainable building

- Innovative construction process. 100% prefabricated structure that combines the most innovative construction methods: Cradle-to-Cradle (materials that can be reused indefinitely) and Lean Construction (in stages).

- Sustainable building. LEED Gold certification, an international benchmark in building sustainability, based on incorporating environmental impact throughout its useful life cycle (from design to demolition). Choice of materials that minimise the negative impact and have a positive impact on the environment.

- Less pollution and reduced waste. Detailed daily construction planning, with preventive actions to reduce pollution from erosion, sedimentation and dust in the construction process.

Alliance Healthcare: 100 years of commitment

Alliance Healthcare is a leading provider of pharmaceutical wholesaling, logistics, clinical trial support and other innovative healthcare solutions to pharmacies and pharmaceutical laboratories, and its origins date back to 1919, when a group of pharmacists founded the Sociedad Anónima Farmacéutica, in Zaragoza.

The growth of Alliance Healthcare Spain peaked in 1998, when the Safa Group was integrated into Alliance UniChem, the second largest European group and fourth largest in the world in pharmaceutical distribution. In 2007, the Safa Group changed its name to Alliance Healthcare Spain.

Since its creation, Alliance Healthcare Spain has pursued a major expansion policy.

What started out as a small dispensing and warehousing company, has grown, over the years, into a global service provider for pharmacies and the pharmaceutical industry.

Today, Alliance Healthcare has a total of 28 branches in Spain, distributed across different autonomous communities. At the international level, the company is present in a dozen countries, including Spain.

The company was part of the Walgreens Boots group until June 2021, which is when the pharmaceutical distribution business was acquired by AmerisourceBergen, a distributor of pharmaceutical products and solutions for laboratories, pharmacies and healthcare providers, with 41,000 employees and an annual turnover of 200,000 million dollars. The incorporation of Alliance Healthcare's shareholders has given AB direct access to the European market, where it didn’t have a presence.