Board members appointed to help the non-profit organisation’s work to drive improvements in the Life Science and MedTech air cargo supply chain.
Pharma.Aero, the non-profit organisation promoting excellence in the Life Science and MedTech air cargo supply chain, has established an advisory board to work alongside its Board of Directors.
The board members represent different segments of the supply chain and the first four, appointed for a year, are:
- AirBridgeCargo Airlines (part of Volga-Dnepr Group), Yulia Celetaria, Global Healthcare Director
- BDP International, Simona Ravera, Director of Sales EMEA, LifeScience and Healthcare
- Cargo Service Center India, Tushar Jani, Group Chairman
- Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, Milton De La Paz, Vice President Airline Relations and Cargo Business Development
Pharma.Aero aims to facilitate direct collaboration between the different air cargo stakeholders in the supply chain, especially between CEIV-certified airport communities dedicated to handling, storage and air transportation of pharmaceuticals.
It helps develop projects that focus on end-to-end supply chain visibility solutions and has recently worked with a project team in Uruguay to develop an innovative Covid-19 vaccine distribution strategy. ‘Lean Logistics for Vaccines’ reduces the delivery time of vaccine shipments from airport to patient to only 10 hours, saving at least a day in the supply chain.
Despite being the last South American country to kick-start the COVID-19 vaccination campaign, Uruguay had vaccinated more than 70% of the population in less than six months, making this strategy a successful case study in the industry, Pharma.Aero said in a statement.
“Throughout the project, a multidisciplinary team comprised from the public and the private sectors in Uruguay were brought together and contributed to the development of the innovative and integrated distribution strategy. Carrasco International Airport at Montevideo played a decisive role in the preparation, storage and distribution of the vaccines straight to the vaccination centres all over the country, through its Pharma HUB facility.
“The positioning of the airport as a key distribution centre not only resulted in time savings, but also created a secured and efficient centralisation of the vaccine inventory management, as well as provided greater flexibility and reliability to the country’s vaccination campaign.”
Last year, Pharma.Aero established a project group with Humanitarian Logistics Association (HLA) with the aim of developing a strategic implementation roadmap that enables effective transportation of pharma and humanitarian medical goods to remote areas using UAV and drone technology. The pharma industry today is struggling with last mile transportation to patients and healthcare facilities in remote areas.
Nathan De Valck, Chairman, Pharma.Aero, said: “The aim of forming the Advisory Board is to maintain a balanced voice from our members, who represent all segments across the pharma air cargo supply chain. The Advisory Board will help the organisation keep a 360° view on industry trends and supply chain innovation related to pharma and life sciences.”
Source: Lloyd’s
