Where cooler heads prevail :: Airline Industry Soon To Enforce Binding Guidance For Handling Temperature-Sensitive Pharmaceutical Products

It has been a long time in coming, but the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the 240 member inter-airline organization promoting safe, reliable, secure and economical air services for the benefit of the world's consumers, has undertaken a significant step for improving the handling of temperature-sensitive pharmaceutical products. The organization, representing more than 140 nations is adding a separate chapter to its 7Th Edition of the Perishable Cargo Manual specifically addressing air transport logistics for temperature-sensitive health care products.

The current edition to the manual is primarily dedicated to perishables of the flora and fauna variety, with only vague guidelines for handling medicinal products.

Late last summer I was contacted by Eric Raemdonck, Secretary of the Live Animals and Perishables Board (LAPB), and Manager of Special Cargo Standards at IATA, and asked to form and chair a cross-industry committee consisting of representatives of pharma, freight-forwarders, airlines and service providers whose purpose would be to:

- provide information on the factors that affect temperature-sensitive health care products

- indicate critical control points in the air transport logistics that can impact products

- provide best practices conforming to regulatory agencies requirements.

It has been quite an undertaking and over the last several months the airline industry, through the LAPB has demonstrated extraordinary cooperation with the Pharmaceutical industry and other service providers for establishing concise, practical guidelines for shippers handling health care products to ensure an industry-wide standard of excellence.

Since the pharmaceutical industry is one of the most heavily regulated industries in the world, every step of the life-cycle process, including manufacturing, storage, distribution, application and disposal must be well defined and follow very strict government agency guidelines.

The guidelines for handling in the 7Th Edition of the Perishable Cargo Manual to be published in June 2007, will, for the first time, be binding to its members. This is a significant stroke of good fortune for the pharmaceutical industry as improvements to the process should be immediate and positive since this portion of the distribution chain has long been identified by the pharmaceutical industry as a major gap in lack of control within the distribution process, rife for mishandling - with significant potential for exposure to temperature extremes and improper storage.

Posted to:

Main Page

Comments

Post a comment

Re: Airline Industry Soon To Enforce Binding Guidance For Handling Temperature-Sensitive Pharmaceutical Products

by Tony Wright on Fri 09 Feb 2007 11:24 AM CST | Profile | Permanent Link

Hi Kevin,
Firstly great blog.

Naturally it's a great step forward to have the cool chain requirements of the pharma and life science industry incoprporated into the IATA Perishables manual (though I have been trying to convince Eric to change the name to 'Temperature Sensitive' since many of the worlds airlines use the word perishables only to describe general food commodities and we know well that there is a tremendous difference in process). We need to see a stronger differentiation in terminology.

I know well from my days developing the temperature senistive business for BA and latterly at my time with Envirotainer, that there is undoubtedly a need for improvements in procedures, practice and measurement of the air logistics process and have long believed that IATA, with its wider and global membership have the opportunity to play a stronger role in achieving that.

Whilst the CCA have achieved a great deal in developing the CCQI, there still remains the actual process of full adoption or implementation within the air part of the logistics process and right now individual commercial considerations are somewhat hindering this. If the IATA initiative is to work we will need to carefully consult to avoid carriers fearing adoption of new procedures is costly and therefore even decline to carry the very commodities we want to see globally traded (and safely)

Of course I am not saying it's impossible but it will need that continued cooperation with the pharma and life science industry to achieve practical implementation and for some big carriers to publicly adopt it as a driver to overall implementation. For my part and as someone with knowledge of 'both sides', I am willing to help that along. I know from conferences I have attended in Europe, that many pharma manufacturers (big and small pharma), believe the air cargo business to be very opaque.
So if we can see greater visibility through agreed standard processes, we will have made a significant step - but it will take time.

See you in Mexico.

Re: Re: Airline Industry Soon To Enforce Binding Guidance For Handling Temperature-Sensitive Pharmaceutical Products

by Kevin O'Donnell on Wed 14 Feb 2007 03:35 PM CST | Profile | Permanent Link

Tony,

Thanks for the comments. I agree with you on all points made. While working as a mediator between the airline industry, service providers, and pharma companies on this project, I was astonished at how little each knows of the other in terms of capabilities, limitations and actual practice. I think they have learned a new appreciation for what the other does. Hopefully, the 7th edition will begin to reflect that and act as a template for furthering that effort.

Re: Airline Industry Soon To Enforce Binding Guidance For Handling Temperature-Sensitive Pharmaceutical Products

by online prescription on Tue 29 May 2007 03:07 PM CDT | Permanent Link

Animals have been transported by air since the early 1930's. In today's modern world, carriage of live animals by air is considered the most humane and expedient method of transportation over long distances. IATA ensures that both safety and animal welfare are addressed in all regulatory issues pertaining to transportation of live animals by air.

Post comment:

	Receive comment notifications for this article
Subject:
Comment:

Comment verification:

Please enter the text you see inside the graphic to post your comment:

You are not currently logged in. If you would like your user information to be displayed with your comment, please enter your login information below.