What the ToxExpo Floor Told Us: GXP-Storage® at SOT 2026

San Diego had 5,000 toxicologists in one room last week. What they told us about storage was more revealing than any session on the agenda.

The Society of Toxicology’s 65th Annual Meeting and ToxExpo covered AI-driven safety assessment, next-generation risk frameworks, and the accelerating shift away from traditional testing models. On the ToxExpo floor, the conversation was less abstract. Teams weren’t debating methodology — they were describing where their programs actually break down.

For the first time, GXP-Storage ran a Storage Showdown bracket — a March Madness-style activity where booth visitors ranked the biggest threats to regulated material storage head-to-head. We didn’t know what to expect. After countless matchups, four threats made the Final Four: Lack of Real-Time Monitoring, Documentation and Record Management,Regulatory Compliance Complexity, and Inventory Discrepancies. The finals came down to Lack of Real-Time Monitoring vs. Regulatory Compliance Complexity.

Lack of Real-Time Monitoring won. It wasn’t a surprise. Every other threat in the bracket is downstream of the same root cause: you can’t manage what you can’t see.

Three Things We Kept Hearing

1) Visibility is still largely aspirational. A study director from a mid-size pharma company told us directly: the quality of specialized storage, stacked against what a CRO offers, is exactly why organizations like his are looking for dedicated storage partners. CROs are exceptional at running studies. Storage is a different discipline — one that demands purpose-built infrastructure and a quality framework built around material custody, not study execution. GXP-Guardian® provides real-time environmental monitoring, immutable chain-of-custody records, and 21 CFR Part 11-compliant audit trails across your entire storage network. Continuous visibility. No waiting for a reconciliation report to tell you something went wrong.

2) Regulatory complexity is compounding. The SOT program reflected an industry actively renegotiating what compliance looks like as AI and new methodologies become standard. On the storage side, the pressure is quieter but just as real — GLP material retention requirements haven’t loosened, inspectors are sharper, and multi-site programs under dual FDA/MHRA oversight are the norm, not the exception. Our dual ISO certifications (ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 20387:2018), combined with our validated system, mean our clients face every audit with complete confidence.

3) e-Archiving is accelerating — and the compliance questions are just starting. A preclinical team lead from a major pharmaceutical organization told us the transition to electronic archiving is a genuine operational need, and the compliance complexity around data residency is an open question their team is actively navigating. Where does the data live? Who controls access? What jurisdictional requirements govern regulated electronic records across FDA and MHRA territories? Most sponsors aren’t equipped to answer those questions. GXP-Storage is — with a validated system built to meet the residency and compliance requirements of electronic archiving.

Storage Is Infrastructure, Not Overhead

The preclinical world is moving fast. The materials supporting that science deserve the same rigor as the studies themselves.

If you stopped by the booth in San Diego and want to continue the conversation — or if you missed us — we’d welcome the chance to show you what purpose-built, compliant storage actually looks like.

Schedule a GXP-Guardian Demo | Download Our Capabilities Overview
GXP-Storage operates GxP-compliant biorepository facilities in Research Triangle Park, NC (Foreign Trade Zone 214) and the UK Golden Triangle. Serving regulated industries across pharma, biotech, medical devices, and beyond.

March 2026 | San Diego, CA
Contributed by Nicholas Bruck, Director, Business Development