Page 5 - Al-Rashed Newsletter November 2020

SHIPPING WORLD
VACCINE LOGISTICS

When the coronavirus became a global pandemic in early 2020, the life sciences and healthcare (LSH) supply chain
faced unprecedented challenges.

Today’s conventional cold supply chains transport temperature-sensitive medical supplies at temperatures between two
and eight degrees Celsius. This includes vaccines, which must be stored properly from the time they are manufactured
until they are administered. Any exposure to inappropriate conditions, such as higher temperatures, could reduce or
even destroy the vaccine’s potency.

Assuming 10 billion doses are to be distributed over two years, it is estimated the need for 15 million deliveries in
cooling boxes, 200,000 movements by pallet shippers and 15,000 flights across the various supply chain setups.

Downstream it will become increasingly difficult to comply with stringent temperature requirements, especially in certain
parts of the world. Currently, large parts of Africa, South America and Asia could not be readily supplied at scale due to
lack of cold-chain logistics capacity suitable for life science products. It’s going to take extraordinary measures to reach
people in these places, where some two-thirds of the world’s population live. Governments and NGOs need to start
improving infrastructure now and collaborating closely with vaccine producers and logistics providers to ensure doses
can be distributed to everyone as soon as vaccines are available.

Governments are scrambling to prepare for the rollout of the Pfizer and Biontech vaccines, which must be stored at
-70C (-94F), after the announcement from the two companies that it was more than 90% effective and had no serious
side-effects. The news sparked hopes of a return to normal life and a stock market rally, but now minds are turning to
the practicalities of getting the vaccine quickly to populations across the world, in particular to the vulnerable people
who need it most.

Other coronavirus vaccines in development will not need to be stored at ultra-cool temperatures, including the one from
the US firm Moderna, which can be kept at -20C, similar to home freezers. Vaccines that are being developed by
Johnson & Johnson of the US, AstraZeneca in partnership with the University of Oxford, and France’s Sanofi and the
UK drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline, are expected to be stored and shipped in an unfrozen state.

Airlines are rapidly working to test their shipping acumen and lock down supplies of ultra-cold storage containers,
Reuters reports. Korean Air, for instance, has inked contracts with five temperature-controlled container manufacturers,
and while it now says it has sufficient container capacity, it continues to pursue additional deals with storage specialists.
Air France, meanwhile, is plotting to test its shipping capabilities with an unnamed drugmaker through the use of ersatz
vaccines—shipped at ultra-cold temperatures—potentially through Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam. The trial run will see
Air France use dry ice-cooled boxes, which can store upward of 5,000 shot doses each. DHL, for its part, is tapping
liquid nitrogen-cooled capsules from Cryoport, able to keep products at temperatures as cool as -150 degrees Celsius
(-238 degrees Fahrenheit) for up to 10 days

Source : DHL, Theguardian.com, Pfizer, Fiercepharma.com

Pic: Infographic on how the Pfizer BioNtech vaccine will be delivered in UK