The global COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for a timely and effective pharmaceutical cold chain as never before. Rapid delivery of the vaccines needed to fight the virus depended on coming up with innovations that could ensure tight control over the temperature of shipments spanning the globe.

Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine is needed to be maintained at a temperature of around -70 degrees Celsius (-94 degrees Fahrenheit) during storage and in transit. (The usual cold-chain standard for most vaccines is between 2-8 degrees Celsius.) In certain parts of the world, the company supplied similar monitoring services for the Moderna vaccine, which was equally temperature-sensitive.

In the world of vaccine distribution, the stakes are high. Temperature variations result in the degradation of up to 35% of the world’s vaccines each year. The biopharma industry loses an estimated $35 billion annually due to temperature-related logistics failures.

The vaccine supply chain entails multiple handoffs, each of which presents the risk of contamination of the sensitive materials. As a result, the vaccines had to be shipped in thermal containers that were designed to hold dry ice during both transport and storage.

The old technology of passive data loggers for monitoring shipment conditions lacks the degree of visibility necessary for ensuring the quality and safety of life-saving pharmaceuticals. Such devices generally are limited to receiving descriptive data, reporting on what happened after the fact.

Under normal circumstances, it can take years to set up a distribution model for accommodating new pharmaceuticals.

comprises real-time data loggers, access to a software platform in the cloud, and round-the-clock monitoring and response.

The internet-of-things (IoT) data loggers are placed inside boxes, crates, pallets or shipping containers, depending on product type and applicable regulations. They monitor the content’s quality, location, temperature, exposure to light and other shipping specifications. Alerts registered by the loggers are keyed to pre-defined business rules.

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