Cold chain competition is heating up, especially with Catalent's announcement Wednesday of facility expansions to keep pace with increasing customer demand. The expansions affect the U.S., U.K. and Germany.
"Steadily increasing numbers of biological products in development, particularly in prefilled syringes, are fueling the need for refrigerated storage and distribution," said VP/GM Frank Lis, in an announcement. The move targets "all major areas" of storage and distribution, including 2 to 8 degree Celsius and -80 degree Celsius capabilities, with a tripling of storage and distribution space in some cases. Separately, Catalent had announced about a month ago that it was expanding its controlled substance clinical supply capacity.
We reported just last week on the efforts of the Indianapolis International Airport to bolster its standing as a cold-chain hub by hosting temperature-sensitive-service heavyweights DB Schenker, FedEx, Cargolux and Pace Air Freight. And in June, DHL reported the conclusion of a pilot and subsequent rollout of a cold-chain track/trace system based on a temperature sensor from Sentry. DHL reported in April a deal with Cryoport, maker of frozen-product shipping containers.
Meanwhile, India's Hyderabad Airport opened a Pharma Zone late last year that includes a temperature-controlled facility with a dedicated area for 2 to 8 degree Celsius storage.
- see the cold chain release
- here's Catalent's controlled substance release