PHARMA\\\ >> 26


to 2023. The Life


Sciences market overall is very diverse and the range of products varies widely within it, from Class 1 medical devices to highly specialised orphan drugs, manufacturing inputs such as APIs and excipients, nutritionals, clinical trials and everything in between.


This makes for a complex


supply chain; logistics solutions must be tailored around the product’s characteristics to deliver compliant, high quality, but also cost-eff ective goods. The rapid shiſt


markets and more challenging


Issue 3 2019 - Freight Business Journal


manufacturing geographies, development of more complex and sensitive pharmaceuticals, and the tide of strict regulations introduced by national and global bodies means greater eff orts must go into ensuring product integrity, with increased demands on all stakeholders. If not managed well, these


challenges could have an eff ect on cost increase, waste and ineffi ciency in the pharmaceutical supply chain, but most importantly could ultimately increase the risk the loss of life-saving products. From a technology point of


to new


view, the Life Sciences industry needs to continue to focus on


innovations which ensure product integrity, speed to market and price. Technologies that support visibility and traceability in the end-to-end supply chain are highly sought-aſt er and are always in development. Artifi cial intelligence, internet


of things, robotic automation, machine learning and blockchain will no doubt lead the digital transformation of the Life Sciences industry, but given the complex and sensitive nature of the data sets, transformation may lag compared to other industries. Despite this, tech is expected to play an increasingly important role in pharma supply chains


Pharma demand is all up in the air


All over the world, emerging markets are seeing improvements in healthcare alongside rising populations, increasing incomes and growing economies. For the air cargo industry, this means growth in demand for air cargo services from pharma shippers and increased volumes, says IAG Cargo. Head of product, Daniel Johnson


explains: “This is something we’ve seen at IAG Cargo and a main driver to launch our bespoke Constant Climate product, the fi rst pharma-only product for


time and temperature sensitive pharmaceutical


products. The


demand in Constant Climate is increasing, and we are working to ensure this continues by investing in the product and improving our off ering to customers.” The UK and Ireland along


with India are key regions for the manufacturing and origination of pharmaceuticals, supported by the likes of Germany and Switzerland in Europe and Korea, Japan and Singapore in Asia Pacifi c. Many world-leading companies have facilities in the UK, and IAG


sees continued demand for its Constant Climate product there. From 2017 to 2018, tonnage increased by over 50% for UK Constant Climate shipments. In destination terms, IAG Cargo


sees strong demand in North and Latin America as well as Africa. Key destinations are not quite as concentrated as manufacturing, Johnson continues. “Life-saving drugs are needed all over the world, and our network of 107 GDP- certifi ed Constant Climate stations means we’re able to deliver to wherever drugs are needed.”


The daily battle to save lives


Pharmaceuticals and healthcare logistics providers face the daily challenge of ensuring product integrity from its arrival at the facility right through to delivery to the patient or customer. With a high volume of valuable and sometimes life-critical cargo, due diligence is key.


This tight adherence to


procedure starts at the warehouse, explains GEFCO’s executive vice president of freight forwarding, Anthony Gunn: “In an ever- changing market environment with continual increases in temperature-sensitive products and associated regulations, processes are constantly being reassessed and refi ned to better meet


customer needs. This


presents its own set of unique challenges.” One size does not fi t all,


he continues. Logistics for humanitarian relief is a prime example of the rigours of life sciences and healthcare logistics, a sector that requires door-to-door, temperature-controlled delivery solutions over land and sea as well as meticulous warehousing procedure.


Here, ensuring high-stock


availability is critical to accommodating unplanned emergencies, and time-saving initiatives such as radio-frequency scanning allow products to be picked and packed effi ciently and save precious time. To ensure products remain


at their storage condition temperatures and maintain eff ectiveness at the point of use, full temperature control is oſt en required across packaging, storage and transportation. The use of pre- conditioned gel packs is critical to maintaining temperature for airfreight shipments. Shipments may oſt en comprise


much smaller individual orders (such as


an insulin injection


or tablets), which need to be transported to a domestic pharmacy. Again, the requirements are diff erent and diff erent supply chain processes will oſt en be required across a single facility, with associated security challenges.


Expect the unexpected


When it comes to unplanned emergencies - perhaps a specifi c medical treatment for a patient or


delivery of components of an MRI, for example - it is essential that the right services and processes are in place to react quickly, Gunn continues. “For GEFCO, time critical


solutions management is a major part of our freight forwarding off ering, and we have recently launched a dedicated Mission Control Centre in Amsterdam to bolster our global operational support, control and coordination for these shipments.” Providing a dedicated point


of contact, round the clock availability, rapid response times and real time monitoring are all a key part of such Time Critical Solutions [TCS] services, with value-adds such as management of customs operations and document management also increasingly necessary for customers. As the industry develops,


technology will have a growing infl uence in the time critical solutions space. Gunn adds: “Our track and trace tool, TRACY, enables customers to obtain key shipment information including the origin, destination, fl ight/ship number and expected/actual arrival via a simple


because as price pressure builds up, speed to market is so important and new innovations are the only way to keep competing on this front.


GDP and CEIV


Certifi cations such as GDP and CEIV are an acknowledgement of the capability to deliver, says Kate. As with any certifi cation, however, “the key is driving a quality and compliance culture into the organization and ensuring standards are delivered on a day-to-day basis across your operations. As a service provider, we are integrated with pharma


However, Latin America does


stand out as a growth region and the pharma market there is forecast to increase by 9% per year over the next ten years. Johnson adds: “We’ve been involved in several WHO vaccine programmes in the region, including a shipment of 5.3 tonnes of diphtheria vaccine from India to Venezuela to combat an outbreak of the disease. We’ve also shipped MMR vaccines and Enoxaparin Sodium injections (DVT prevention) to Brazil.” The recently opened GDP-


certifi ed Constant Climate facility at IAG Cargo’s Madrid hub will allow for an increase in pharmaceutical


voice command. “For time critical solutions where


transparency


and real-time monitoring are imperative, TRACY is set to play a major role.” As stock oſt en includes sensitive products such as controlled drugs and opiates, as well as strict regulations related to their transport, it is important to maintain a very robust security regime alongside tolerances on temperature control. Gunn explains: “At Heathrow, we


use on-site X-ray screening for air cargo and constant 24/7 monitoring for onsite security and increasingly sophisticated real time tracking technology once shipments are in transit to their fi nal destination. In a highly regulated industry, with ever-increasing customer requirements and transparency expectations, compliance also underpins everything we do from a security perspective.” The Wholesale Dealer


Authorisation was a key accreditation for GEFCO in the UK. It allows the storage of human and veterinary medicines as well as medical devices, and demonstrates to customers that it operate under the same compliant standards that they do.


27


training, vendor compliance and risk management. The system operates on the basis of globally recognized Industry and Regulatory standards. Translating this into practice,


manufacturers’ supply chains, and therefore feel a great responsibility to make a positive contribution to delivering medicines to market.” Agility’s focus on product


integrity is founded on globally standardised quality systems with an emphasis on continual


products passing through Madrid, most of which are expected to go to Latin America. IAG Cargo transports a wide


variety of temperature-sensitive pharmaceutical products across its network, ranging from vaccines to biotech products and diagnostics samples. Through a partnership with Biological E., a leading manufacturer of vaccines based in India, the carrier has shipped over two billion vaccine doses across 90 countries, helping to support vaccination programmes around the world and provide life-saving treatments to those most in need. There are two solutions used


for transporting pharmaceuticals: Active and Passive. Active containers are best described as fl ying fridges and use sophisticated heating and cooling to maintain stable internal temperatures


Agility is building up a global GDP- compliant network with certifi ed centres of excellence, specifi cally tailored around the essentials of handling Life Sciences products. The stations require cargo to undergo and pass independent GDP certifi cation,


but more


importantly, have an implemented GDP quality management system and nominated quality manager, focusing solely on good distribution practices.


from -20°C to +25°C. They’re the best safeguard to ensure the purity, potency and stability of the product


shipped. The fi rst


temperature-controlled container supplier used by IAG Cargo was Envirotainer and the carrier now off ers fl exible leasing packages to our customers from four suppliers. Passive packaging is designed


for the transportation of shipments and protect


the integrity and


quality of pharmaceutical products from life-saving medication to active ingredients. Last year IAG saw a signifi cant


increase in demand for active units, suggesting an increase in demand for more advanced pharmaceuticals, which have more specialised transportation requirements and demand greater precision and monitoring during transportation.


UK registered charity no 1072105. Patron HRH The Princess Royal.


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