The CEIV Pharma certification program launched by IATA is rapidly gaining speed. Following the licensing of Brussels Airport Cargo, Liege and Milan, AF-KL Cargo and Changi Airport, Dusseldorf Cargo has apparently also become a Center of Excellence for Independent Validators on Pharmaceutical Handling certification (CEIV Pharma). The successful achievement of this aim will be made official at the WCS meeting being held in Berlin.

CCA Member AIR FRANCE KLM MARTINAIR Cargo is the first major airline group to be awarded the IATA CEIV Pharma certificate for its hub operations in Amsterdam and Paris, as well as the Air France and KLM airline processes. Amsterdam & Paris – Having joined the IATA Centre of Excellence for Independent Validators (CEIV) programme, our airline group was awarded CEIV Pharma Certification on 11 February 2016 for our hub operations at Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, as well...

Express transportation company FedEx Express has launched “one-stop” cold chain solutions in mainland China. Outbound FedEx International Priority (IP) Service and domestic Priority Delivery Service in China now offer two packaging solutions – Gel-pack Temperature-Controlled Package and FedEx Cold Shipping Package. With three temperature ranges of -20-0° Celsius, 2-8° Celsius and 15-25° Celsius, these solutions are aimed at industries that require refrigeration for their shipments, particularly ...

Investments come as report says changes in drug manufacturing put a greater premium on temperature controls in logistics   The move by drug manufacturers toward more structurally-complex drugs is creating a need for stronger temperature controls in distribution channels, according to a paper released by Deutsche Post DHL AG. Photo: European Pressphoto Agency The largest U.S. logistics companies are preparing for a boom in spending on specialty drugs that require temperature-controlled ...

More than 90% of all vaccines require a temperature-controlled supply chain (the “cold chain”) that begins with the manufacturer and ends with the administration of the vaccine to the patient. Typically, shipping and storage guidelines advise that vaccines and biologics remain between 2° and 8° Celsius, the temperature range from which stability data was historically derived. By prioritizing protecting vaccines from excess heat, the better-known hazard, cold chain practices may risk exposing vac...

Failure of the temperature-controlled supply chain, or “cold chain”, is suspected in the death of a six-year-old girl who was bitten by a rabid dog last month in the northern Indian town of Mani Majra. Despite the rapid response of healthcare providers, the victim ultimately died from rabies. Rabies is a vaccine-preventable viral disease that causes tens of thousands of deaths each year.

The rapid growth in the biopharmaceutical and vaccine industries is driven in part by increased demand in emerging markets, particularly throughout Asia. China is rapidly becoming a major player in biopharmaceuticals – a recent report by IMS Health predicted that China is poised to become the world’s third largest pharma market. The same report suggested that a key limiting growth factor is China’s lack of cold chain infrastructure.

Interview with Malik Zeniti, DuPont.   The temperature control of perishable products during transit continues to be a hot topic. With the latest EU good distribution practice (cGDP) for pharmaceuticals now in place and with concerns over food wastage gaining momentum, the need for adequate freight safeguards has never been greater.

Brussels Airport to become world’s first CEIV Pharma certified community   Industry Context The global pharmaceutical industry relies on the speed of air cargo for moving this high-value, temperature-sensitive cargo. Pharma shipping has in recent years become the fastest-growing segment of the international air freight industry and not only cargo carriers but forwarders and handlers have attempted to secure their share of the sector through branded and specialised products and services. Key...

Tyvek® 3-in-1 Air Cargo Covers perform at Europe's largest Cool Chain event Star performers at Cool Chain Logistics Europe in Luxembourg from 27 - 29 January, 2014 were the Tyvek® range of triple-action Air Cargo Covers from DuPont. Tyvek® covers provide a dependable and affordable means of complying with the new EU GDP for pharmaceutical products. High performance, triple action Tyvek® Air Cargo Covers provide pharmaceutical companies and their logistics providers with multi-threat thermal prot...

Cargolux is the first GDP certified airline CCA Member Cargolux Airlines was granted Good Distribution Practice (GDP) status by Bureau Veritas Certification Germany GmbH, attesting that the company’s management system fulfills the requirements of the EU directive ‘Guidelines on Good Distribution Practice of Medicinal Products for Human Use’ and of WHO guidelines. Cargolux is the first airline worldwide to be GDP certified, which underlines its strong commitment to the safe and expedient movement...

Despite the critical nature of the drugs being handled and transported from one part of the world to another, everyone involved in the pharma cold chain agrees that there are still no enforceable document and no standardization of the rules when it comes to pharmaceutical transport. Moreover, executives from the freight and logistics industries say the pharma cold chain reminds "broken" and that shippers see airports as the weakest links in the chain. Read the full article here.

Investment in technology and infrastructure among air cargo firms handling pharmaceutical and healthcare products is resulting in a two-tier supply chain, a conference on ground handling has heard.  There are those companies who invest and those who do not, explains Marcel Fujike, senior vice-president of products and services, global air logistics at Kuehne +Nagel. He, along with Sebastiaan Scholte, chairman of the Cool Chain Association (CCA), is calling on IATA to wade into the handling ...

There's a desperate need for standardisation in the handling of pharmaceuticals and healthcare products in the air cargo supply chain, warns the Cool Chain Association (CCA).  Poor communication and training, a deficiency in the required skills, along with cost pressures are just some of the ‘weak links’ affecting quality of service, a conference on ground handling has heard.  Sebastiaan Scholte, chairman of the CCA, is calling on IATA to take the lead in addressing these problems by “...

CCA Member Panalpina are planning for growing demand in the temperature controlled freight market. In the first half of this year 20 per cent of Panalpina’s air cargo moved on its Luxembourg-Huntsville route was temperature-controlled. The vast bulk of this cargo is shipped by the healthcare industry, but growing demand for temperature-controlled shipping can also be observed in other industries according to the carrier.

As part of a plan to build global supply chain competence in the healthcare market, logistics giant and CCA Member DB Schenker has opened a new logistics centre in South Korea.  The 6,100-sq m facility, located in Gunpo, near Seoul, is fully equipped for healthcare operations, including a cold storage range of 2-8 °C and 15-25 °C products, and specialised vaults for sensitive pharma products, such as psychotropic and radioactive items.  The new centre is one of 26 such contract logisti...

Cool Chain specialist and CCA Member Envirotainer and ULD management company CHEP are to work together in a strategic worldwide alliance. The deal addresses an increasing need for cold chain transportation of perishables, pharmaceuticals and healthcare products. At the same time, Envirotainer is to establish four new fully Envirotainer-operated competence centres in Atlanta, Amsterdam, Singapore and Vienna.

Perishable volumes shipped by air in South Africa have shrivelled as rising costs, competition from other carriers – and African countries – have harmed the trade. Ronel Rossouw, national sales manager for South African Airlines, told the Cool Logistics conference in Cape Town last month that “the business is dying”. “We are getting more money moving perishables between Johannesburg and Cape Town that we do to London these days,” she said.

The temperature-sensitive logistics market is in a state of flux and there are many more questions than answers at the 12th annual Cool Chain Logistics Europe 2013 in Basel, Switzerland, the center of pharmaceutical manufacturing in Europe.  There is no doubt the cold chain is evolving to include every range of temperature control, with a special focus on Controlled Room Temperature (CRT) for drug maker’s ambient products. A quick poll of the IQPC event audience revealed many end users and ...

Airlines and forwarders are introducing increasingly sophisticated pharma logistics products in response to new legislation and surging demand – but as sea freight options also try to gain a foothold in the market, competition is more intense than ever. Lured by potentially higher yields and solid demand, the air freight industry is gearing up for heavy competition on the increasingly regulated pharmaceuticals sector. Following the introduction of stricter rules on the transport of goods, includ...

Airlines and forwarders are introducing increasingly sophisticated pharma logistics products in response to new legislation and surging demand – but as sea freight options also try to gain a foothold in the market, competition is more intense than ever. Lured by potentially higher yields and solid demand, the air freight industry is gearing up for heavy competition on the increasingly regulated pharmaceuticals sector. Following the introduction of stricter rules on the transport of goods, includ...

CCA Member Panalpina is urging its healthcare customers to share transport, while forging new intermodal routes for less urgent pharmaceutical shipments, in an attempt to cut shippers’ logistics bills. The first route, from Europe to countries in Latin America including Brazil, Mexico, Colombia and Venezuela, will use air, road and ocean freight, while it is also working on an intermodal route from the US to Latin America. The initiative began a year ago, when Panalpina identified that pharmaceu...

300+ Pharma Cool Chain Related Executives answered the questions in this survey (September 2012): Q: Which of these best represents the products that you are principally moving through your supply chain ? Branded Pharmaceuticals 29% Biopharmaceutical's 23% Healthcare Distribution (on behalf of one of the above) 16% Clinical Supplies and IMP’s 11% Other 11% Generics and OTC products 3% Q: What are the top 3 priorities in your temperature assured distribution supply chain ? Reduce or pre...

Work is underway to extend the Cargolux warehouse in order to be able to safely move and store healthcare and pharmaceutical products. The 3,000 m2 warehouse expansion, which is due to be opened in Spring 2013, will enable the air freight firm to store temperature sensitive items while in transit. It will offer two temperature zones with permanent temperature monitoring, compliant with the global guidelines on the storage and distribution of medical products for human use.

Exelsius, the international Cold Chain Management Consultancy, has once again teamed up with IQPC to deliver its acclaimed 2-­day training course – Good Transportation Practices for Air, Road and Ocean for Temperature‐Sensitive Healthcare Products.  To be held in conjunction with IQPC’s 10th annual Cold Chain & Temperature Management Forum in Chicago September 24‐28 2012, the course will be of significant interest to all stakeholders in the logistics supply chain for temperature-sensiti...

A breakdown of the cold chain was implicated in the deaths of 128 children in India vaccinated in 2010. Since then, three major developments have occurred. Most temperature-controlled distribution channels operate effectively, but when a major breakdown in a cold chain causes widespread illness or even death, it can bring a higher level of public scrutiny to your supply chain.  Incidents like the deaths of 128 children in India caused regulatory agencies throughout the world to reexamine ph...

As part of its KN PharmaChain product, Kuehne + Nagel has introduced newly developed active wireless sensors which record and transmit the temperature of pharmaceutical airfreight shipments along the entire supply chain. The use of active wireless sensors is a major achievement in the segment of seamless airfreight cold chains for pharmaceutical products. Generally, security rules prohibit the active use of mobile sensors during air transport.

Cold-chain services to global biopharma will be a $7.6-billion industry in 2013, rising to $8.9 billion in 2016 Latest forecast from Pharmaceutical Commerce sees 37% growth between 2010-2013; delays in biosimilars commercialization will hamper future growth The 3rd annual Biopharma Cold Chain Sourcebook, a market study and guidance resource of this fast-evolving market pioneered by Pharmaceutical Commerce, has just been published. Factoring in global trends in pharmaceutical manufacturing and di...

Overall global demographic developments have a big impact on economics and therefore on trade and transport flows. This will bring opportunities mainly for emerging economies and challenges for mature economies, especially for Europe, where the population is aging.  DEMOGRAPHICS Food sustainability By 2050 there will be more than 9 billion people on this planet. Taken into account the current and future economic shift where emerging economies will mature and therefore global wealth will inc...

Cargo carrier steps up investment in business with temperature-sensitive freight Lufthansa Cargo began operations today at its new facility for temperature-sensitive freight in Frankfurt. The Lufthansa Cargo Cool Center was built in the space of just six months. It is equipped with four cool storage rooms for four different temperature ranges as well as a deep-freezer cell on an area of 4,500 square metres.

We did it! Last month – November 2011 – planet Earth’s population increased to over 7 billion people. A stunning figure, considering – in a historic time span - the “short” time it has taken to get from 1 million to that 7 billion.

There have been many ups and downs in the air cargo industry over the past two years, but there’s one trend that appears to be here to stay: the continued growth of cold chain cargo. There are several types of products that require cold chain or temperature-sensitive shipping, including perishables such as flowers and food. The biggest cold chain growth, however, is coming from the healthcare industry.

Pharmaceutical and biotechnology manufacturers can save money on cold chain transport through reusable solutions and closed-loop or reverse logistics programs.  The current economic challenges have caused dramatic budget impacts, and nearly every industry and organization has felt the pressure of the current crisis. As operating costs continue to rise, budgets continue to shrink. Whether it is in highly critical research and development or in ongoing marketing and delivery, the impact has b...