UPS (NYSE:UPS) will offer the PharmaPort 360, an air freight container for healthcare products that provides shipment monitoring and protection for temperature-sensitive pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and biologics.
Manufactured by Cool Containers LLC for UPS, the PharmaPort 360 is designed with input from both the life sciences and transportation industries. It is fully validated and tested and exceeds healthcare industry standards for temperature-sensitive compliance during transportation.
The PharmaPort 360 container maintains strict temperatures by using both heating and cooling storage technology, allowing it to tolerate a wider range of extreme ambient temperature changes. The container more effectively maintains temperatures critical for protecting medicines that need to stay within the required 2° to 8° C to prevent spoilage. The PharmaPort 360 also sustains its protective temperature range for more than 100 hours.
This container’s temperature control and monitoring systems are powered by an AC rechargeable battery. The unit’s technology replaces the need for dry ice, thus eliminating the associated handling fees and hazardous materials charges. Also, the PharmaPort 360 will hold 2° to 8° C temperatures 38% longer than current dry ice container systems.
Built-in sensors monitor shipment condition and GPS location and transmit this data to UPS’s global control towers via GSM, a standard global cellular network. Agents proactively monitor the container for select “heartbeats” such as internal and external temperatures, near real-time location, and battery life. When alerts are triggered indicating a potential risk, UPS agents can intervene with pre-established contingency plans to rescue a shipment in distress and prevent product loss.
While in transit mode, the container neither consumes energy nor emits external heat, vapor, or gases, allowing the unit to fly in both upper and lower deck aircraft positions. The Federal Aviation Authority also has approved the PharmaPort 360 to fly on both narrow-body and wide-body aircraft.
The PharmaPort 360 is available exclusively through UPS Temperature True, a service designed to safeguard cold-chain shipments. The service includes priority routing of shipments, temperature-sensitive handling and storage, around-the-clock proactive monitoring, and intervention services in case of unexpected delays.
For more information, visit www.ups.com/pp360.
