One-way, temp-controlled shipping will cut export costs, says Pharmafreight

04-May-2009 - Last updated on 05-May-2009 at 10:38 GMT

Related tags Active ingredient Pharmacology

Pharmafreight and Kryotrans have teamed up to offer a one-way, temperature-controlled shipping service that they claim will help pharmaceutical exporters cut costs and boost efficiency.

The offering, known as Tower, combines Kryotrans’ range of shipping units with Pharmafreight’s logistics expertise, allowing manufacturers to send drugs and actives overseas without having to ship empty containers back when delivery is complete.

Exporters can hire one of the units and either collect it from Kryotrans’ hub close to London’s Heathrow airport in the UK, or from one of the Pharmafreight US locations in New York, Los Angeles or San Francisco.

According to Pharmafreight’s commercial director Andy Hughes the one way shipping service, which will initially focus on the US before being rolled out globally, has been sought by the drug industry for a long time.

Hughes told in-PharmaTechnologist that since Pharmafreight began supplying the units in 2000 “one of the big drawbacks…has always been the fact you had to pay to bring it back from wherever you sent it,” explaining that Tower resolves this issue.

He added that: “All sorts of products ship in the units [including] Herceptin, Neulasta and types of vaccines…at between 2 to 8'C,” adding that “we have also shipped active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) at -20'C.”

Hughes went on to say that: “Using the KryotransT unit compares favourably with other reusable solutions on the market such as the Envirotainer and now with the one way rental it is even more cost-effective.”

He added that the compliance record of the units means that they are less likely to end up in quarantine due to any temperature deviations, “perhaps getting the drugs out to market sooner or into a clinical trial.”

Hughes also stressed that the Kryotrans’ Krylogger system recorded every time the unit is opened which, in combination with numbered seals added to the unit at the start of its journey, help with supply chain security.

“The units are built of a very robust plastic, and one unit has even suffered damage from forklift blades, puncturing its outer skin, and the unit still carried to perform within its required temperature range.”