How Lanes and Duration Shape Cold Chain Packaging Selection

Choosing between reusable passive, single-use and active cold chain packaging starts with defining the risk a shipment needs to manage rather than the container itself, according to Vijay Paliwal, vice president of advanced solutions and customer experience at Cold Chain Technologies.

"It's really about what risk you're trying to manage, not so much about what packaging," Paliwal says. Speaking with Pharmaceutical Commerce at LogiPharma USA 2026, where he joined the panel "Reinventing Cold Chain Packaging & Technology: Smarter Systems for a More Predictable and Sustainable Future," Paliwal notes that manufacturers' core competency lies in developing and commercializing drugs, not cold chain transportation, which is why many rely on packaging partners to guide those decisions.

Reusable passive systems tend to fit well-established lanes where manufacturers have solid stability data on the product and end users already accustomed to handling returnable shippers. Sustainability commitments can also tip the decision toward reusable models.

Geography can quickly change the math. Paliwal pointed to shipments to Saudi Arabia, where bringing a shipper back to the U.S. would be "economically unfeasible." Routing it to a regional center in the Middle East is an option, though not always a cost effective one. Home delivery presents a similar calculation. Curbside-recyclable single-use shippers with cellulose-based insulation let patients dispose of packaging at home, avoiding the reverse logistics costs a reusable program carries.

Furthermore, Paliwal notes that active systems come into play when transit durations significantly exceed what passive shippers can support.

Industry data suggests total cost of ownership (TCO) has long been central to these choices. In Peli BioThermal's 2019 Biopharma Cold Chain Logistics Survey, 70% of respondents rated TCO as important or very important, and 79% said reusable containers, though more expensive than single-use containers, were worth the investment.¹

Reference

1. Forcinio H. Packaging Preserves the Cold Chain. BioPharm International. April 1, 2020. https://www.biopharminternational.com/view/packaging-preserves-cold-chain-1