Effective July 1st, 2012 the IATA Time and Temperature Sensitive label became mandatory for the transportation of healthcare cargo shipments transported as temperature sensitive cargo. The decision to implement this step resulted from a collective recommendation supported by the Time and Temperature Task Force and Working Group members and endorsed by the IATA Live Animals and Perishables Board (Pharmaceutical Outsourcing 23-July-2012).
The Indian cold chain market has been forecast to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 28.7% over the next five years, to be worth a market value of US$11.6 billion by 2017 (Companies & Markets 7-Aug-2012).
On July 9, 2012, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services NIH News published research that states, “Researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have developed a new silk-based stabilizer that, in the laboratory, kept some vaccines and antibiotics stable up to temperatures of 140 degrees Fahrenheit.“
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is the industry’s global trade association and represents some 240 airlines comprising 84% of global air traffic. Its mission is to represent, lead and serve the air transport industry (Pharmaceutical Outsourcing 23-July-2012).
Under the new rules from the newest GDP guidelines, which are designed to stop the flow of illegal fake drugs into the market, any place where drugs are stored for more than 24 hours would need to be classified as a specific storage site, and would need to obtain wholesale distribution authorisation, as they will now be seen to be partaking in a „regulated activity“ (Cold Chain IQ 29-March-2012).
PATH has achieved improvements in heat stability of vaccines and has been working with collaborators on low-cost solar refrigerators. This technology aims to make refrigeration more affordable to facilitate immunization services in remote settings (BioSpectrum 16-July-2012).