When it seems there is no way to get it there, we’re the team that gets it there

It was a new gene therapy for SMA. A brilliant innovation by a small biotech company which, if given to patients under 2 years old, showed remarkable efficacy – with the potential to transform the lives of these patients and their families.

Understandably, when parents of children affected with the debilitating disease heard about a potential cure, they set up a clamour for it to be used.

Unfortunately, the treatment was unregistered outside of the United Sates – therefore wholly unobtainable anywhere in Europe.

What’s more, this being a gene therapy, the product required intense pre-med testing and preparation. There was also the limitation that no centres had the expertise to carry out these tests or administer the product. The logistics alone for transporting a valuable product like this from the United States at -70°C (-94°F) – required special materials, packaging, facility upgrades and specialist training to handle the product.

And all that’s before you even consider the financial challenges. With treatment costing over 2 million Euros per patient and no state reimbursement program in place, the parents had to resort to crowdfunding and charities to finance the treatment privately. Even if they could come up with the funds, the obstacles in collecting private money for services billed by a public hospital seemed insurmountable.

But of course, “insurmountable” is where Komtur is at its best. When it seems there is no way to get it there, we’re the team that gets it there.

Which we did. Until another problem got in the way.

Enter Coronavirus

Enter staff shortages, logistical challenges and a stick in the spokes of just about every wheel we tried to turn. But it also created two opportunities. First - with everyone stuck to their computers, the charities were able to raise funds in record time. And second, a tax break was granted for medicines - which Komtur Polska was quick to exploit.

Despite COVID restrictions and shortages of qualified staff, our team managed to execute over 30 shipments - each of which gave a sick child a chance of a normal life.

Meanwhile, the small biotech company was bought by a top 10 pharma company that was so pleased with our performance that it gave Komtur exclusive distribution in Poland and Slovakia. We’re currently in negotiations with the Finance Minister to develop reimbursement programs to make this treatment available to more families.