UPS Healthcare has announced a collaboration with global biotechnology company Novavax for the distribution and delivery of its newly approved COVID-19 vaccine to 27 European Union (EU) countries, including Poland. The Novavax vaccine does not require storage at ultra-low temperatures (below -20°C) to maintain its integrity and can be safely stored and transported at 2°C-8°C. These easier storage conditions make the Novavax vaccine a potential lifesaver for many regions and remote locations that lack ultra-cold freezers.
– The new Novavax vaccine has tremendous potential to contribute significantly to improving public health worldwide – says Wes Wheeler, President of UPS Healthcare. – We have built an advanced and extensive infrastructure in the European Union that allows us to deliver temperature-sensitive products. Thanks to this, both the life-saving Novavax vaccine and other essential healthcare products will be quickly available to hundreds of millions of people.
The UPS Healthcare distribution center is strategically located near the UPS European air hub at Cologne-Bonn Airport and has direct access to major European airports, including Rotterdam, Antwerp, and Amsterdam. This allows for reduced global transit times for products and enables next-day delivery to 80% of locations in Europe.
– By working with UPS Healthcare, we can optimize our capabilities and deliver vaccines wherever they are needed most. – says John Trizzino, Chief Business and Commercial Officer at Novavax. – The Novavax vaccine does not require the same cold chain transport conditions as other “ultra-cold” vaccines, so it could potentially change the fate of developing countries that do not have the capacity to receive or transport ultra-cold products and medicines to remote areas.
Novavax vaccines will be stored at the recently expanded, state-of-the-art UPS Healthcare facility located in Roermond, the Netherlands. The UPS Healthcare distribution center can handle a wide range of biopharmaceutical products. Roermond features dedicated pallet positions with coolers for storing biological products such as the Novavax vaccine. The facility is also equipped with freezer pallet positions for storing products and medicines at -20°C and below, which is necessary for storing other COVID-19 vaccines as well as many biological drugs.
UPS Healthcare is at the forefront of companies delivering vaccines worldwide. To date, the company has delivered over 1.5 billion vaccine doses to more than 110 countries, achieving a 99.999% on-time delivery rate.
This was achieved by creating an extensive global network, including over 500 new trade lanes worldwide and new air and ground routes. The company’s goal was to create a secure and flexible infrastructure, which is essential for transporting time-sensitive and temperature-sensitive vaccines.
Vaccine transport is monitored 24/7 by three global UPS Healthcare command centers, whose task is to ensure timely delivery of products by minimizing risks and preparing contingency plans for events such as extreme weather conditions and other unforeseen obstacles.
In 2021, UPS Healthcare invested in 36,000 square meters of cold chain and freezer storage space worldwide, including newly established and upgraded medical facilities in Poland, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Germany, and Italy. The new facilities complement UPS Healthcare’s existing infrastructure, which includes 1 million square meters of cGMP/cGDP-compliant distribution space located in 134 facilities across 30 countries worldwide.
UPS Healthcare has been committed to fighting the COVID-19 pandemic and transporting and distributing vaccines from the very beginning, including in our country.
The company is expanding its operations in Poland and strengthening its position in the medical sector. It will soon open a new 24,500-square-meter warehouse in Błonie near Warsaw, designed for handling and storing medical products and medicines at various temperatures.
Source: UPS, Solski Communications