Latest ideas on temperature control

IN-FLIGHT SERVICE

AIRFREIGHT • TEMPERATURE CONTROL DURING AIR TRANSPORT IS CRUCIAL IN THE PHARMA SUPPLY CHAIN. NEW SOLUTIONS ARE HELPING ENSURE GOODS ARE DELIVERED IN PRIME CONDITION

THE PHARMACEUTICAL SUPPLY chain makes wide use of airfreight to get goods to end markets as quickly as possible. But it also places great demands on the supply chain to ensure that those goods get to the market in good condition. Not only are the goods involved often high-value consignments, they also often require temperature control during transport.

As such, a widespread industry has developed, offering an increasing array of solutions for cold chain shippers such as pharmaceutical manufacturers and their logistics service providers (LSPs). Those solutions display some very different approaches to temperature control, while solutions providers have also been busy of late signing agreements with some major cargo airlines.

“Breaks in the cold chain are a serious issue for the pharmaceutical supply chain, with valuable stock often sitting on the tarmac for hours at a time,” says Peter Lockett, director at TP3 Global, which manufactures the globally recognised SilverSkin™ thermal protection blanket.

To address this critical problem, TP3 Global has introduced SilverQuilt™, a higherperforming, multimodal thermal protection that achieves superior temperature protection for valuable, sensitive cargo such as controlled room temperature (15°C to 25°C) pharmaceuticals. “With the introduction of SilverQuilt, pharma manufacturers can take a balanced approach, matching cost-effective protection with well managed supply chains,” Lockett says. TAKE IT FURTHER TP3 Global’s approach is to create a multilayered blanket that maintains freight within predefined temperature limits for extended periods during breaks in the supply chain. It is also water-resistant and can provide protection against theft.

“Our existing products, such as SilverSkin, have achieved a solid reputation in the market, being tested, approved and now used by many of the world’s leading pharmaceutical manufacturers,” adds Lockett. “SilverQuilt is the next logical step to support customers looking to protect controlled room temperature (CRT) freight with a high-performance cover solution with tighter control limits. The higher performance enables customers to consider the combination of controlled lanes and thermal covers for +2oC to +8oC shipments, which was not possible with lower performance thermal covers.”

Before its official launch, SilverQuilt underwent an extensive R&D process at TP3 Global’s technical centre in Redditch, UK. The material passed multiple assessments, including hot and cold environmental chamber testing, virtual cold chain simulation and thermal resistance (R-value) testing.

“The launch of SilverQuilt arrives at an exciting time for our business, as we continue global expansion and further establish

PROTECTION MUST BE PROVIDED FOR TEMPERATURE-

ourselves as one of the leading providers of thermal protection solutions,” Lockett says. “The additional launch of the TP3 Global Technical Centre this year has increased our capacity to test materials beyond the identification of an R-value. The data this facility provides will support customer decisions on which insulation materials suit certain lanes, support them in taking a riskbased approach towards GDP and provide documented evidence for quality assurance and best practice.”

TP3 Global has recently been acquired by Softbox, a leading global innovator and provider of cold chain packaging systems for the pharmaceuticals industry. The combined portfolio of industry-leading passive temperature control packaging systems and thermal protection products reinforces both companies’ ability to support their customers’ requirements for cold chain supply solutions, Softbox says.

MODELS AND MANUFACTURING CSafe Global, a leading expert in cold chain solutions has over the past six months received approval for its new temperaturecontrolled RAP container from both the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The new container expands CSafe’s range of active and passive cold chain solutions, providing greater opportunities for pharmaceutical and life-science companies to ship their temperature-sensitive goods around the globe.

The CSafe RAP container uses innovative heating and compressor-driven cooling technologies, together with advanced ThermoCor vacuum insulation panels (VIPs). These features eliminate the risks to payloads associated with extreme ambient temperature conditions and long-duration shipments. The CSafe RAP active container system takes advantage of the proven performance and capabilities of the well-established CSafe RKN in order to remove the operational and environmental challenges encountered with global temperature-controlled shipments.

The CSafe RAP can maintain constant payload temperatures of between -30°C and +54°C; it also has a maximum payload volume of 6.7 m3, capable of accommodating up to four US or five Euro pallets.

Germany-based va-Q-tec, meanwhile, is expanding its footprint into North America, investing several million dollars in a new 20,000-ft² (1,860-m2) headquarters and operations facility in Langhorne, Pennsylvania. The new site will, the company says, become an innovation centre that will showcase its latest products, while also acting as a hub for its rental and repair station for small box containers. The facility will also have the capacity to produce 2,000 boxes and 50 to 100 containers per week.

“The investment in this new facility is a testament to our commitment to grow the business and expand our footprint in North America,” says va-Q-tec’s CEO Dr Joachim Kuhn. “After careful consideration, Langhorne is the perfect location for us - right in the heart of the healthcare cluster, close to several major airport hubs and with easy access to major roads across the country and in close proximity to the pharmaceutical centres in Boston and Durham, NC.”

Christopher J Storch, head of global sales, adds: “We want to offer our current and future customers the best solutions for their temperature-controlled logistics needs. By opening the new facility, we are not only strengthening our position in the US, it also puts us in a better place to accompany the growth of the pharmaceutical industry, in which 27 of the top 50 bestselling pharmaceutical products will require temperature-controlled transportation and handling by 2020.”

As part of va-Q-tec’s growth plans, it has hired Sandy Richwalski as managing director, North America. It also plans to create up to 20 new jobs in the medium term to service the US business.

DEAL WITH THE CARRIERS Elsewhere, va-Q-tec has announced a global cooperation with Japan Airlines, with the aim of offering extended availability of passive thermal containers to one of the largest pharmaceutical markets in Asia.

“We are proud to announce Japan Airlines, a high-class airfreight company, as a strong partner for temperaturecontrolled pharma shipments,” says Takehiro Takasaki, country manager at va-Q-tec Japan. “The cooperation increases the network in Japan tremendously.”

Sook Yoo, head of business development, Asia at va-Q-tec, adds: “We pursue a strong growth strategy in the Asia-Pacific region. »

LEFT: THE VA-Q-TEC TEAM OPENS A

NEW US HEADQUARTERS FACILITY

OVERLEAF: ANDREAS SEITZ,

Besides the establishment of a subsidiary in Japan and the Japanese network station for operating cold chain supply transports, the cooperation with Japan Airlines is one important accomplishment for reaching our ambitious objectives in Japan.”

Va-Q-tec offers high-quality transport containers that provide temperature-controlled solutions for six temperature ranges from -70°C to +25°C in five sizes, taking up to two US pallets inside. These passive thermal containers allow for constant temperature control for five days without using external energy sources. “Currently, there is no other controlled and proven system out there that can reach this level of performance without external sources,” the company says.

Another Germany-based provider, DoKaSch Temperature Solutions, is also looking at expanding its market via a tie-up with an airline, having signed a master agreement with Ethiopian Cargo & Logistics Services (Ethiopian Airlines) for the supply of climate-controlled Opticooler unit load devices (ULDs). “We are very glad to offer our customers a highly reliable packaging solution to transport temperature-sensitive shipments with DoKaSch’s Opticooler,” says Ethiopian Airlines managing director Fitsum Abady. “In this fast-growing and strongly competitive market, it is important that we offer our customers the best packaging solution for their sensitive cargo.”

Africa’s largest cargo terminal was recently inaugurated at Addis Ababa Airport, Ethiopian Airlines’ main hub, DoKaSch notes, stating that “the inauguration of this [stateof-the-art] cargo terminal, fitted with the latest technology and compartmentalised temperature-controlled storage facilities, will enhance the handling of temperature-sensitive cargo shipments, such as pharmaceuticals”.

Moreover, the new deal means that the airline can now use Opticoolers, which are equipped with battery-powered cooling compressors and heaters as well as a selfregulating temperature control, “to fly these goods through the hub of the airline to and from Africa”.

“Ethiopian Airlines is the most successful African carrier and their hub in Addis Ababa [is developing] very positively regarding cargo handling,” says DoKaSch managing director Andreas Seitz. “Therefore, we are very pleased that we could expand our African network by signing [this] master agreement with Ethiopian Airlines.”

The Opticooler ULD is one of a range of temperature-controlled containers offered by DoKaSch, its main selling point being the lack of a consumable coolant such as dry ice. The Opticooler RAP is a large-capacity unit, with space for five euro pallets or four CP-1 pallets. It offers quadruple redundancy on all critical components and can control temperature within a 3°C range anywhere between +2°C and +30°C. It has an “extremely large battery capacity,” according to DoKaSch, which can be charged in under six hours and operate independently for 100 hours. If the battery runs low, the unit can be connected to mains power to continue operation.

DoKaSch also highlights the continuous manipulation-proof capture and storage of key metrics, using a system certified by TÜV Germany, via an onboard CPU. Data can be displayed or printed for quality assurance purposes. Alarms are triggered in the event of faults or non-compliant events, such as the doors being opened.

The smaller Opticooler RKN offers many of the same features but has a capacity of one euro or CP-1 pallet and triple-redundant components. Like the larger RAP version, the RKN is ruggedised to help cope with the sorts of rough handling expected during loading onto and unloading from aircraft. All essential components are positioned in such a way as to shield them from external impacts.

Other models from DoKaSch do not use compressors but dry ice for cooling and electric power for heating. The Unicooler has a temperature range of -20°C to +30°C, with permanent temperature monitoring and data recording. The Icecooler is a highly insulated version with no heating and specifically designed for pharmaceutical transport. Both the Unicooler and Icecooler are available in the same RAP and RKN sizes as the Opticooler. HCB www.tp3global.com www.softboxsystems.com www.csafeglobal.com www.va-q-tec.com www.dokasch-ts.com