Dutch international delivery company TNT has signed up two major customers for its new cold chain packaging and shipping solution Medpak VI°C that officially launches later this month. One of the customers is a major clinical trial company and the other a global biotech company.
According to TNT, Medpak VI°C derives its name from the service guarantee of a temperature variance of no more than 1°C during transport.
Explained why it has launched the service, TNT said: “Stricter regulations on patient safety and the growth in biologic drugs are increasing the need for proven cold chain logistics solutions, but these are often provided at a high price by specialist firms with no own delivery network.
“With Medpak VI°C, TNT offers an all-inclusive solution that combines high-end temperature-controlled packaging solutions with the comfort of a transport integrator’s air and road network. The service comes with tracking and monitoring solutions to ensure compliant cold chain management.”
Core to the service is a patented cold chain packaging technology from the German company va-Q-tec that uses phase change materials (PCM) and vacuum insulation panels that keep temperature sensitive packages within set defined temperature ranges. This is essential with volatile and temperature sensitive pharmaceutical products.
TNT provides the boxes to clients on a one way rental basis, and transports the temperature sensitive materials before taking the empty boxes back to the receiver after delivery. The receivers might be hospitals, doctors, clinics, factories or pharmaceutical distribution locations. This will allow healthcare manufacturers to outsource the end to end management of packaging, conditioning, transport and return logistics to TNT as opposed to handling it themselves.
TNT is still developing new products and services despite being about to being subsumed in FedEx which is in the process of acquiring the Dutch company, in a deal that should be completed by autumn this year.