UPS has announced that three of its freight forwarding operations have received the prestigious IATA CEIV Pharma Certification for excellence in pharmaceutical air transportation and handling. UPS services have received the certification at Narita International Airport and Kansai International Airport in Japan, and Incheon International Airport in South Korea.
With its freight forwarding operations at Changi International Airport in Singapore, which achieved certification in 2019, four of UPS’s freight forwarding operations are now internationally recognized to handle and transport high-value pharmaceutical products safely, securely, and efficiently. The certification also validates UPS Healthcare™ Cold Chain Freight service offering at the four locations as being aligned to global best practices.
A globally recognized standard in transporting pharmaceutical air cargo
Without adequate global standardization across the entire air cargo supply chain, critical healthcare cargo such as vaccines and other biopharmaceuticals can be rendered compromised and potentially harmful to patients when subject to even the slightest temperature deviations.
The path towards obtaining certification saw UPS engage in rigorous preparations across multiple aspects of operations, including pharmaceutical product handling and transportation, staff competency, procedures, risk assessment, and infrastructure.
“The latest IATA CEIV Pharma Certifications provide healthcare decision-makers and our pharmaceutical and life sciences customers with confidence and peace of mind knowing that their products are handled in line with the highest levels of regulatory compliance. This also represents UPS’s commitment to deepening its healthcare capabilities in Asia Pacific in line with global quality standards and compliance,” said Wes Wheeler, President of UPS Healthcare.
Freight forwarding network and expertise underpinning healthcare cold chain logistics
Growth in cold chain logistics spending is expected to accelerate and reach US$21.3 billion by 2024. The uptick in spending underscores the increasing demand for specialized healthcare operations and research needs, particularly in Asia, where well-established life sciences hubs thrive in Singapore, Japan, and South Korea.
“Through the strong capabilities of our freight forwarding network in Asia coupled with decades of specialized healthcare expertise, UPS is well-equipped to operate a continuous cold chain that is fundamental to protecting product integrity and quality of high-value temperature-sensitive biopharmaceuticals, such as vaccines and clinical trials,” said Anita Li, Vice President, UPS Freight Forwarding, North and South Asia.
“UPS Freight Forwarding in Asia is proud to continue leading the way across our network with these certifications. Looking ahead, UPS will pursue certifications for freight forwarding operations located in Shanghai and Beijing in China, and Sydney in Australia,” added Li.
UPS Healthcare continues to expand capabilities across Asia Pacific
UPS Healthcare recently introduced a comprehensive suite of cold chain technologies, best-in-class capabilities, and new and expanded global facilities to provide end-to-end temperature-controlled logistics. In addition, last year, UPS increased cold chain good manufacturing practices (GMP) storage capacities – roughly 390,000 square feet of coolers – to support the specialized storage of biologics.
UPS Healthcare’s recently launched Marken GMP depot facilities in Japan and South Korea, along with the ongoing expansion of an existing Sydney facility, serve to connect and support the Asia Pacific region with global markets for special storage, compliance and handling needs for pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and medical devices.
“Patient safety is a shared responsibility of all stakeholders. Our ability to move time-and-temperature-sensitive pharmaceuticals relies on the robustness of our supply chain. As we continue to grow our service offering, we remain committed to enhancing quality excellence that patients worldwide continue to depend on for the safe arrival of critical healthcare products,” concluded Wheeler.
As of 2021, UPS delivered over one billion COVID-19 vaccine doses globally with 99.9% on-time performance and continues to deliver millions of doses throughout Asia.
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