About us

1969

Founded in Stamford, Connecticut by James R. Berger

October 1, 1969

We make our first shipment from NYC to LHR

1970 - 1975

Initially started by Jim, his wife Francis, his brother Bill, and a few team members, we grow to a team of 25

• The name World Courier comes into existence with our incorporation in New York, 1971 
• First office outside the US opened in London
• We open new offices in Amsterdam, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and the UK due to growing demand

1975 - 1979

• Our global expansion continues, opening and incorporating in Belgium, Chile, Denmark, Ecuador, France, Hong Kong, Japan, Peru, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland and Uruguay

1980

We establish new Eurolink hub in Frankfurt

1984

• Our workforce grows to more than 800 people
• First cryogenic and human organ transplant shipments

1986

World Courier handles the first HIV shipment working closely with the global scientific community to accelerate research

1989 

• World Courier Canada handles the first HIV clinical trial
• A global procedure for handling dangerous goods is started
• The first dry ice shipment is made
• The Eurolink hub moves from Frankfurt to Brussels

Early 1990s

We develop and launch our proprietary order entry and shipment system, World-STAR

1992

We initiate an extensive internal quality review, achieving ISO 9001 certification for all our offices within the next two years

Mid 1990s

Op-STAR, our global database for import/export, is launched

1994

We host the first of 20 global biomedical seminars in London

1995

Our Eurolink hub moves from Brussels to Cologne

1997

We receive IATA certification to provide in-house dangerous goods training worldwide

2000

• Out international network expands to over 100 offices in 44 countries
• Bio-STAR launches, a proprietary cutting-edge project management system designed to handle complex clinical trial shipments and manage investigator sites in global multi-center clinical trials 
• Cord blood shipping starts – an industry first which is vital in enabling stem cell research
• We begin support of large molecule research

2003

Dangerous good training made available to external markets

2004

We begin the development of our storage network with facilities in Buenos Aires, Lima, Mexico City, Santiago, and Sao Paulo

2006

A new office in Ljubljana expands our network to 50 countries, with corporate representation to over 700 cities worldwide

Late 2000s

• We become a preferred supplier to the World Health Organization (WHO), Center for Disease Control (CDC), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and Médicines Sans Frontiéres (MSF)
• CTM-STAR is launched, an innovative inventory management and tracking technology to provide remote access for products in 13 depots
  
  

2009

• We become logistics partner to Tara Pacific, a scientific research mission focused on understanding the environmental impact on the world's oceans
• Existing SOPs and quality management systems formalized, and we become the first company to offer fully integrated GxP-compliant transport, storage, and distribution services to the pharmaceutical industry

2010

• We receive company-wide ISO 14001:2004 certification
• World Courier Ground Europe acquired, expanding our specialized ground shipping network
  
  

2012

We join the AmerisourceBergen family of companies

2015

• We open a new distribution facility in Melbourne
• Our flagship temperature-controlled packaging solution Cocoon is launched, developed in-house by our experts at our climate optimization research and engineering (CORE) labs
• Jetstream is rolled out — our internal database and intelligence for enhanced shipment planning
• SAP deployment
  
  

2016

• Our network of team members grows to more than 2,400 people
• In partnership with Medical Research Network, we offer direct-to-patient services
  
  

2017

• We achieve good distribution practice (GDP) certification across our office network, against three major standards
• Transportation of the first commercial cell-based gene therapy (Kymriah)
  
  

2018

We start using EVO shippers for cell and gene therapy logistics

2019

• Celebrating half a century of innovation, we continue to extend global supply channels and improve access to healthcare
• In partnership with select integrator partners, we introduce our hybrid lab logistics service, ensuring performance, quality, reliability, and cost-efficiency

2020

• We play a crucial role in delivering millions of life-saving COVID-19 resources
• Our own, proprietary transport management system (TMS) is rolled out
• DASH, our system for real-time information exchange between our drivers, dispatch, and operations is deployed
  
  

2023

• As of 2023, our global footprint spans over 50 countries, with a team of more than 4,000 dedicated professionals on the ground
• We deploy real-time location monitoring on all multi-use packaging for better shipment visibility
• AmerisourceBergen changes name to better reflect our global ambition, bold vision and purpose-driven approach
  
  

2024

• In response to an outbreak, we delivered over 300,000 mpox vaccines from Europe to Africa
• New sites opened in Denver, Indianapolis, and San Diego enhance our capacity to store, handle, and transport specialty pharmaceutical products
• Our new facility in Prague is opened, and is the greenest building in our portfolio
  
  

2025 and beyond

Our commitment drives us to continue providing industry-leading service to our customers and ensure healthier futures for patients