Staying Current on Cold Chain

The October issue of Pharmaceutical Commerce features one of our annual check-ins on strategies and approaches to the always fluid cold chain and temperature-controlled monitoring sector. Whether across packaging, shipment, and transport—all the way through delivery and dispensing.

Our related coverage this month includes a guest feature by DGeo’s Nick Downey on the evolution of pharmaceutical packaging amid the growing and wider imperative for “greener, smarter, and less costly solutions.” He offers six helpful cold chain tips for shippers, and aligns those with considerations around sustainable packaging options—where new tools are increasingly becoming available.

Downey emphasizes the importance of manufacturers and their supply chain partners staying on top of temperature ranges and weight restrictions for drug products, among other key “check-offs.” Spotting—and understanding—the pain points is also critical, he writes. Among the questions leaders should weigh in their strategies, he believes, include: “Do you have trouble keeping items cold during the summer? Is sourcing or disposing of packaging difficult? What could hold up a shipment in customs?”

Also part of our cold chain dive this month is a Q&A by editor Nicholas Saraceno, who speaks with Heather Zenk, president of US supply chain for the distribution giant Cencora. The two discuss the collective task of building resilient pharma supply chains, which, again, includes the major elements of sustainability and compliance with those always crucial temperature ranges for treatments to be most effective.

“It’s monitoring the temperature, yes, but it’s also monitoring the equipment that manages the temperature,” Zenk points out interestingly. “You have to be able to do that. It’s now how do I anticipate if a piece of equipment is going to fail? It’s setting those types of things up as much as we can to eliminate equipment failing or anticipate when it might.”

Digging into the realm of cold chain as well is a “Partner Perspectives” installment by Jay McHarg, CEO of AeroSafe Global. McHarg makes the argument for redefining “last-mile” delivery to what he terms the “first moment of care.” That includes shedding the reliance on outdated systems, such as those designed for “cold chain packaging technology that hasn’t meaningfully changed in 70 years,” yet “still dominates, often providing only 24 to 48 hours of protection,” he asserts.

A compelling take indeed. I hope you enjoy our October feature and column offerings—cold chain and beyond. Thanks for reading.

— Mike Hennessy Jr is chairman and CEO of MJH Life Sciences