Pharmaceutical Cold Chain For Coronavirus Vaccine

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Delide Supply Chain Group (hereinafter referred to as Delide) has been preparing for the coronavirus vaccine transportation business more than a month ago. Yan Min, President of Delide Supply Chain, told the Economic Observer that the company's current work focuses on improving and improving the technology and process system of vaccine transportation quality based on the characteristics of the coronavirus vaccine, further improving logistics resources, and conducting business communication with related vaccine companies to improve information China Unicom has made comprehensive preparations for the logistics of large-scale coronavirus vaccines.

The domestic large-scale shipment of coronavirus vaccines has already begun. Zhang Qingsong, the logistics director of Jointown Pharmaceutical Group (hereinafter referred to as Jointown), told the Economic Observer that the company has started the coronavirus vaccine transportation business for more than 20 days, and the current daily transportation volume is less than 1 million. Zhang Qingsong predicted that starting from April, the transportation of the coronavirus vaccine will ...
... usher in a peak.

The close preparations of various pharmaceutical cold chain companies have made relevant transportation equipment in short supply. "In the past, large refrigerated trucks, which were basically paid for delivery, were in short supply, and the delivery time has been stretched to about 45 days," said Yan Min.

On January 26, the Ministry of Transport plans to announce the first batch of key contact enterprises for road transportation of coronavirus virus vaccine cargo, a total of 28 companies, including Jointown, Deled and other companies.

The Economic Observer was informed that at the end of November 2020, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the Ministry of Transport held a supply-demand matchmaking meeting on the theme of COVID-19 vaccine transportation to discuss many details of vaccine transportation. Participants in the meeting included Delide, Seven logistics companies including Jointown and domestic related vaccine manufacturers, some of which are expected to have a production capacity of 1 billion doses in 2021.

Vaccines are the most stringent transportation variety in medical logistics. At present, domestic coronavirus vaccines are mainly inactivated vaccines, and their transportation temperature requirements are 2-8 degrees. The "Vaccine Management Law" implemented on December 1, 2019 clearly proposes to implement the most stringent management system for vaccines, establishes a governance framework of "safety first, risk management, full-process control, scientific supervision, and social governance", and formulates A series of legal regulations are guaranteed. Qin Yuming, secretary general of the Cold Chain Logistics Committee of the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing, told the Economic Observer that compared with general cold chain transportation, the two most important requirements for vaccine transportation are full traceability and full temperature control. At present, domestic vaccine transportation is dominated by road transportation, and air transportation is subject to high cost and multiple links, which can only be used as a supplement.

Guosen Securities predicted in related research reports that China's vaccine demand will reach 2 billion. With high standards, can China's pharmaceutical cold chain transportation system support the transportation of vaccines?

In September 2020, the Pharmaceutical Logistics Branch of China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing, where Qin Yuming works, conducted a survey of some member companies under the guidance of multiple ministries. The survey results showed that 60% of companies have planned to add cold storage in 2021, and 70% Companies have plans to add new refrigerated trucks, and cold box companies say they can adjust and expand production capacity in time according to the increase in orders. "According to the current production capacity of manufacturers, the coronavirus vaccine will be put into the market in different batches, which will greatly reduce the pressure on the coronavirus vaccine transportation. On the whole, the current domestic cold chain system can meet the incremental demand", Qin Yuming's economic observation The newspaper said, but at the same time Qin Yuming also reminded that the current weak link facing the domestic coronavirus vaccine is the "last mile" transportation, especially the transportation of vaccines in remote areas, which requires planning in advance.

Prepare for coronavirus vaccine shipment

Delide Medical Division has now entered full capacity operation. From contact with vaccine companies to price negotiation, to logistics resource preparation, purchase of new vehicles, personnel training, system adjustment, process optimization, and monitoring equipment testing^A series of compact agendas are fast in one and a half months Landing.

"The coronavirus vaccine is different from the general vaccine. The society pays great attention to the coronavirus vaccine. The quality control of each key joint of the coronavirus vaccine transportation must be done to ensure that it is foolproof." Yan Min said.

In the whole "preparation", the purchase of refrigerated trucks is a key point of capacity expansion. On the one hand, the purchase of refrigerated trucks requires a lot of funds, and on the other hand, refrigerated trucks are one of the keys to ensuring the quality of vaccine transportation. Yan Min introduced that vaccine refrigerated trucks have strict requirements on vehicle age, cold machine configuration, verification procedures, and transportation process monitoring. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the storage and backup of transportation resources to ensure that they can meet the complex epidemic environment. The overall needs of customers and society for vaccine logistics.

Zhang Qingsong told the Economic Observer that Jointown has already configured 65 vehicles for the coronavirus vaccine transportation business, and currently plans to purchase another 50-100 vehicles.

Jointown is currently a national leading enterprise in the field of medical cold chain. On December 31, 2020, Jointown and Kexing Holdings (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Kexing Holdings") signed and completed the "Strategic Cooperation Agreement". Based on their respective advantages, they agreed to establish a strategic partnership and carry out business cooperation in areas such as vaccine entrusted delivery and refrigerated truck rental. For the transportation of the coronavirus vaccine, Jointown has also set up a dedicated vaccine library, and carried out a vaccine logistics and distribution operation exercise at the end of December.

As early as 2020, CIMC Lengyun began to prepare to upgrade and develop cold chain packaging suitable for the transportation of the coronavirus vaccine. The transportation equipment such as XT09 and XT10 developed by it is customized for the export of the coronavirus vaccine globally.

CIMC Cold Cloud is an enterprise under CIMC Group that integrates cold chain equipment R&D and production and medical transportation, and is also one of the first batches of the above-mentioned Ministry of Transport. CIMC Lengyun said that it has 3 production bases for smart temperature control products in Beijing, Hangzhou and Baoding. In 2020, the production and sales of coronavirus virus vaccine temperature control boxes will exceed 300,000. And the national transportation service network is basically completed. 33 provincial capital directly operated branches radiate all prefectures, counties and cities across the country. 24 professional cold storages, 40,000 smart refrigerators and 50,000 square meters of cold storage that meet GSP requirements have been invested. Be prepared for the future shipment of the coronavirus vaccine.

CIMC has previously stated on the investor platform that CIMC’s products have already undergone the actual delivery of the domestic clinical third-phase coronavirus vaccine to multiple countries. The temperature control service demand for delivery to multiple countries is that of its subsidiary CIMC. Completed exclusively by Leng Yun.

CIMC told the Economic Observer that transportation equipment such as XT09 and XT10 are currently in use, which will greatly reduce the transportation cost of the coronavirus vaccine. Currently, the purchasers are mainly medical institutions and medical freight companies.

In addition, according to public information, SF Express, Sinopharm and other companies on the above list have also taken intensive measures to prepare for domestic coronavirus vaccine transportation. The relevant person in charge of Sinopharm said in an interview with the media in early January that the company has more than 8 With a cold storage of 10,000 square meters and 880 verified refrigerated vehicles, the company is fully capable and confident to deliver each coronavirus vaccine safely and efficiently to vaccination points in various provinces and cities across the country. SF Express said that in the country, SF Pharmaceuticals will add 80 new GSP refrigerated trucks for pharmaceuticals and use 7 pharmaceutical warehouses in Suzhou, Changsha, Changchun, and Nanchang to prepare for the next cold chain drug storage and distribution needs.

The enthusiasm of pharmaceutical cold chain companies for the transportation of coronavirus vaccines is not limited to their own commercial space. In fact, coronavirus vaccine manufacturers have put forward price control requirements in the docking. For reasons such as corporate social responsibility, transportation companies are When quoting, a relatively favorable price will also be given.

Links and fluctuations

According to Qin Yuming, the vaccine supply chain includes "upstream raw materials, production companies, distribution companies, disease control centers (vaccination sites), equipment suppliers" and other entities. Each link needs to be closely coordinated to effectively guarantee the transportation of the coronavirus vaccine. At present, domestic vaccine transportation is mainly based on roads, supplemented by aviation. After years of development, the road transportation mode is mature and it is also the mainstream transportation mode that meets the characteristics of vaccine cold chain transportation. Air transportation is subject to high cost, multiple links, and difficulty in the last mile. It can only be used as a supplement to the road transportation mode. Urgent and temporary important vaccine needs.

According to the analysis of many people in the industry, vaccine transportation previously mainly relied on self-built logistics of pharmaceutical companies. If the load exceeds the self-built logistics load, the overflow orders will be borne by professional third-party logistics companies. Due to the huge magnitude of this coronavirus vaccine, third-party logistics companies will play an extremely important role. Among the 28 first batches of the aforementioned Ministry of Transport, there are 15 professional third-party pharmaceutical cold chain logistics companies.

Yan Min introduced that the current logistics services of the coronavirus vaccine also follow the principles of marketization, and professional logistics companies will participate in the transportation of the coronavirus vaccine through market bidding. In the entire vaccine logistics service, the shortest logistics route must be designed, and route planning and optimization should be carried out according to orders and emergency situations to ensure vaccine safety as the most critical control point. The entire process is monitored and managed through modern Internet of Things technology. During the process, the vaccine cannot land and must be under temperature control throughout the entire process and traceable throughout the process.

"China’s logistics conditions are relatively complicated, and the conditions of each distribution center are different. A qualified car can directly connect to the platform in the cold storage, and some have a short distance, even if this distance only takes a minute or two. The vaccine must also be loaded into the transfer temperature control box in advance, and then transported into the cold storage." Yan Min said.

This interlocking chain is facing challenges in sporadic situations of the coronavirus epidemic. Yan Min introduced that since the outbreak of the epidemic, the company has changed from a monthly plan to a weekly plan to a daily plan. "Now the daily plan is sometimes late. For example, some time ago, Yanjiao notified all staff for nucleic acid testing at 10 o’clock on the same day, and the car would not be able to get out at 2 o’clock in the afternoon. We also set up a special anti-epidemic command team to collect epidemic prevention from various places. Control information in order to adjust the transportation plan at any time to ensure vaccine transportation requirements."

On January 26, the Ministry of Transport, the National Health Commission, and the General Administration of Customs jointly issued the "Technical Guidelines for the Road Transportation of New Coronavirus Vaccine Cargo" (hereinafter referred to as the "Guide"), which is the holder of the coronavirus virus vaccine marketing license , Production enterprises, distribution units and other operating entities to provide reference for road transportation. The "Guide" has carried out preliminary preparations, transportation links and emergency response links for the coronavirus vaccine road transport shippers (vaccine marketing license holders) and carriers. Detailed specifications.

In the emergency response link, the "Guide" requires the carrier to formulate an emergency plan for temperature control, and take effective response measures in time to prevent abnormal weather, equipment failure, traffic accidents and other unexpected or emergency situations that occur during transportation. The temperature is out of control caused by the situation. This plan should include emergency organization, personnel responsibilities, facilities and equipment, external collaborative resources, emergency measures, etc.

Yan Min believes that although a series of links have been basically smooth, there is still room for optimization in some details. "A common problem now is that many cities have limited trucks in other cities, which will bring some problems to the transfer of vaccines. Due to the risk of delay, it is recommended that all localities establish special facilitation policies for the transportation of the coronavirus vaccine to further ensure the safety and punctual arrival of the vaccine."

Peak response

Zhang Qingsong predicted that starting from April, domestic vaccines will enter the peak period of transportation. CIMC Lengyun said that overseas demand for domestically produced coronavirus vaccines is huge, and it is expected that the market demand will gradually increase after March, and it will enter the peak period of demand after May.

Can China's pharmaceutical cold chain logistics system support the large-scale transportation of the coronavirus vaccine? Qin Yuming gave an affirmative answer. In his view, under the premise of entering the market in batches, overall, the current domestic cold chain system can meet incremental demand.

In terms of infrastructure, according to incomplete statistics, as of the end of 2019, my country's medical cold storage area was 806,000 square meters, accounting for about 3.9% of the total storage area of ​​the medical logistics industry, an increase of about 47% year-on-year; in 2019, my country's medical cold chain has its own There were 8,146 refrigerated trucks, accounting for 23.62% of the total number of self-owned vehicles in the industry, a year-on-year increase of 61.96%. Preliminary forecast is that the area of ​​cold storage will increase by about 10% in 2020, and the number of refrigerated trucks will increase by about 25%.

In terms of equipment, Qin Yuming introduced that in the vaccine road transportation, the most commonly used refrigerated truck models in the market are 6.2m models with an actual loading volume of about 35 cubic meters; 4.2m models with an actual loading volume of about 15 cubic meters. The actual monthly operating kilometers of vehicles for the main urban distribution business are about 8,000 km, and the actual monthly operating kilometers of vehicles for the main trunk line business are about 15,000 kilometers. The current capacity of refrigerated truck modification plants nationwide is about 50,000 units per year, and the capacity can be further expanded according to demand.

In July 2020, the Ministry of Finance and many other ministries and commissions issued the "Notice on Issuing the 2020 Public Health System Construction and Major Epidemic Prevention, Control and Treatment System Construction Subsidy Fund Budget". In this document, it is clear that the vaccine cold chain capacity building, Put forward funding budget support and requirements for the number of facilities and equipment such as refrigerated trucks, cold storage, medical refrigerators, and cold storage packages. "In August, the relevant provinces have actively implemented the central policy and clarified the funding support plan at all levels. The construction of the vaccine cold chain transportation system that has received much attention will usher in a turning point," Qin Yuming said.

A coronavirus vaccine transportation company said that there is no problem with its company's current capacity reserves, and the amount of transportation mainly depends on the manufacturer's production capacity. Yan Min also believes that the current logistics will not become a bottleneck restricting the large-scale implementation of the coronavirus vaccine. In his view, a series of management measures after the vaccine industry incident in 2018, including the promulgation of the Vaccine Management Law, have already carried out a round of regulation of the industry, which has laid a good foundation for the transportation of the coronavirus vaccine.

"The pharmaceutical cold chain logistics industry has long-term preparation and accumulation," Qin Yuming told the Economic Observer.

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