WEEKLY NEWS She stresses that compliance must be understood, not


PRECISION, PATIENTS, AND THE PURSUIT OF CONSISTENCY


BY Anastasiya SIMSEK


AS the pharmaceutical industry moves deeper into the era of personalised medicine, air cargo providers are being forced to rethink every assumption about scale, speed, and precision. It’s no longer about moving large quantities of a single product, it’s about moving single treatments that can define a patient’s outcome. “Personalisation is no longer a concept, it’s the reality,” says


Yulia Celetaria, Global Director Pharma at Healthc’Air. “Pharma logistics has moved from transporting standardised products to managing highly specific shipments for patients with unique treatment pathways.” Those pathways can now involve advanced therapies such as


cell and gene treatments, where even a minor deviation in timing or temperature can render a product useless. “These shipments often have a patient’s name attached,” she adds. “You’re not just moving cargo; you’re moving someone’s hope.”


02


The challenge of smart digitalisation Celetaria believes technology has been both a revolution and a risk for pharma logistics. The influx of data from IoT devices, AI tools, and digital dashboards has created new visibility - but also new noise.


“Digitalisation is not about collecting as much data as possible.


It’s about using the right data at the right moment,” she says. “Having too much information without knowing how to act on it creates confusion. The key is selectivity - using technology to enhance visibility and decision-making, not to replace human judgment.” Artificial intelligence, she argues, is most valuable when applied with discipline. “Our


escalate, and when to trust people; it doesn’t replace them.”


teams know when to intervene, when to the process. Technology supports


Standards need consistency, not slogans For pharmaceutical logistics, operational consistency remains one of the industry’s toughest goals - especially across global networks with


varying infrastructure, climate conditions, and regulatory


standards. “You can’t talk about quality if each location interprets standards


differently,” Celetaria notes. “The only way to build true consistency is to put everyone — airlines, forwarders, handlers, and shippers — at the same table. Collaboration is not just a nice idea; it’s the foundation of reliability.”


Bridging pharma and aviation Healthc’Air operates at the intersection of two industries that often speak different languages: aviation and pharmaceuticals. According to Celetaria, miscommunication between the two remains a source of risk and inefficiency. “There’s still a communication gap between airlines and the life


sciences sector,” she says. “Pharma companies speak in clinical terms, while airlines focus on operational efficiency. We translate between the two.” That translation, she adds, goes beyond terminology. “When you


help an airline understand why temperature control is not optional, or when you help a shipper see why cargo cycles matter, that’s when you create real alignment.”


The human dimension Even as automation and AI take over more operational tasks, Celetaria insists that people remain at the heart of the supply chain. “You can have the best systems in the world, but it’s still people who make the final call,” she says. “Empathy, responsibility, and precision — those are qualities no algorithm can replicate. Every shipment is a promise, and keeping that promise is what defines this industry.” As therapies become more patient-specific and timelines more


compressed, logistics professionals are finding themselves closer than ever to the point of care. “Our goal is simple,” Celetaria concludes. “To make sure that every patient, wherever they are, receives their treatment safely, on time, and in perfect condition.”


Did You Know ? BY Michael SALES


THE HISTORY OF THE BLACK BOX As with many new concepts, especially


The Flight Data Recorder (FDR), popularly known as the Black Box, was invented by David Warren, an Australian research scientist at


the Aeronautical Research


Laboratories in Melbourne. The term "black box" for flight recorders


comes from their original World War II-era electronic


components, housed in non-


reflective black boxes. While still called black boxes, modern recorders are bright orange for visibility after an accident. He was involved in


in Australia, Warren had trouble getting his idea off the ground. Eventually, he prepared a report circulated internationally but with little interest. He decided, in his own time, to build a demonstration recorder, and from his efforts, his first ‘black box’ was born. It could store up to four hours of speech and flight readings, but there was still no interest from aviation authorities. In 1958, during an informal visit to ARL by


investigating the


mysterious crash of the world’s first jet- powered commercial aircraft, the Comet. It occurred to Warren that it would be useful if there had been a recording of what happened in the aeroplane before the crash. In a moment of inspiration, he visualised a recorder continually capturing flight details that could be recovered afterwards.


ACW03 NOVEMBER 2025


Sir Robert Hardingham, the former British Air Vice-Marshal, the breakthrough occurred. Warren was asked to demonstrate his ‘unofficial project’. Straightaway, Sir Robert saw the potential. He and his black box were soon on a flight to England. The


reception was encouraging. The


Ministry of Aviation announced that installation of the black box flight recorder might soon be mandatory. It was also successfully


demonstrated in Canada,


though in America the authorities declined an invitation from the Australian Embassy. Back in Australia, plans were made for further development and production. However, a continuing lack of support


meant that, as the idea took off globally, overseas companies moved ahead with development,


capturing the growing


market. After the crash of a Fokker Friendship at


Mackay in Queensland in 1960, the inquiry judge strongly recommended that black box flight recorders be installed in all airliners. Australia then became the first country to make cockpit-voice recording compulsory. Since


that of time, Warren’s the black box flight preventing their investigating invention, recorder, has been


universally adopted as the most important method


accidents recurrence. and It continues


its significant contribution to international airline safety.


www.aircargoweek.com just


enforced. “When people understand why a standard exists, they follow it naturally. It’s not about enforcement; it’s about shared purpose.”


Infrastructure gaps expose weak links While major gateways have invested heavily in pharmaceutical handling infrastructure, many regional airports still


face critical


gaps. That imbalance, Celetaria says, is one of the most practical challenges in achieving global reliability. “Not


every airport has cool dollies, temperature-controlled


warehouses, or staff trained in GDP compliance,” she explains. “Sometimes we work with airports that have good intentions but limited means. That’s where logistics creativity comes in — using portable solutions, passive containers, or hybrid systems to bridge the gap.” She adds that


improving such infrastructure requires shared


responsibility, not criticism. “Our role is not to point out what’s missing, but to help build the bridge — to support local stations so they can meet the same standards as global hubs.”


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