How hybrid containers safeguard sensitive medicine

The pharma industry is in need of a new solution to tackle the rise in demand for biologics, adhere to stricter environmental regulations and ensure medicines are delivered to patients on time, to the right destination and in pristine condition. Pharma companies can significantly lower risks and eliminate temperature excursions while preserving the environment using hybrid containers.

Hybrid: the best of both worlds

The container industry has historically been divided into two worlds: active and passive. SkyCell, a Swiss technology company, merged the independent runtime of passive solutions and active rechargeability into one solution, the hybrid container. One of the key features of the hybrid is its ability to recharge through cold air by being placed in a standard cool room or reefer truck.

Through the combination of powerful insulation and an energy storage material, the hybrid has become the new standard for pharma safety and transport to more than 90 countries with a verified temperature excursion rate of less than 0.1 percent. Ernst & Young, has also audited the hybrid continuously for three years. 

How do hybrid containers protect life-saving medicines?

The hybrid is fully equipped and optimized to withstand and reduce any potential risks in supply chains. These features make the hybrid container an extremely reliable part of the pharma supply chain include:

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• Optimal performance in any environment.
• Easy handling throughout the supply chain.
• Long independent runtime.

1. Optimal performance in any environment

   The self-charging feature is one of the hybrid container's key attributes. With no need for electric power (unlike active solutions), the hybrid can effectively bypass infrastructure shortfalls in challenging environments to ensure the safety of medicines. When electric power is used for containers, it requires human intervention (somebody has to plug in a cable to ensure it charges) which can further jeopardize the quality of medicines and cargo. Combined with extreme weather conditions, this can contribute to the degradation of medicines. Manual and human intervention is a risk with active and passive solutions, but the hybrid is not affected by such limitations and can function autonomously for more than 202 hours under extreme conditions, safeguarding medicines in the process without requiring intervention. If needed, the hybrid can also be recharged if placed in a cool chamber or reefer truck.

   For example, a shipment of 56 hybrid containers going from Brussels to Mumbai in 2020 were left outside an airport in Mumbai on the tarmac reaching more than 40°C when a transfer flight was canceled during a lockdown in the Indian state of Maharashtra in March of that year. However, the containers had automatically recharged during their interim storage at Hamad International Airport in the Qatari capital of Doha, guaranteeing 5°C internal temperature for 72 hours after arriving at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport Mumbai, despite extreme outside conditions. The hybrid’s optimal self-charging efficiency enabled it to respond to the unprecedented circumstances and keep medicines safe while remaining in excessive ambient temperatures.

2. Easy handling throughout the supply chain

   Human error is one of the main reasons for product loss, but hybrid containers eradicate any likelihood of such errors by design. The hybrid can be handled through the supply chain by any involved user. With all energy storage material built into the container walls and a quality-checked and ready-to-use delivery, all the user has to do is open, load, close and ship.

3. Long independent runtime

   The hybrid’s long runtime is part of its assurance to pharma companies and logistics partners that medicines will arrive without damage. Some hybrid systems such as SkyCell’s C/CRT solutions can have an average run time of 8.4 days or 202 hours (with the longest recorded runtime of 31 days, when waiting for customs processing). If the hybrid container is going to a distant destination, the long runtime will ensure it is fully functional and regulating the internal temperature of the medicines during the long trip. Thus, no damage to the cargo as the medicines will be safe and secure; and no damaged cargo leads to a sharp reduction in corrective and preventive action (CAPA) costs.

   A good example is a recent shipment of antibodies from Munich to Beijing. The pallet of medicine had to stay at a temperature of 2°C to 8°C, while traversing ambient temperatures of 4°C to 31°C. Over eight days, the cargo was kept within 2°C to 8°C with no need to recharge, further displaying the hybrid’s ability to meet the needs of pharma clients and patients efficiently.

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Swiss-precision engineering 

Building hybrid containers is a highly sophisticated work of engineering as it is designed using cutting-edge software used to design Formula One cars and the SpaceX rocket. All of its tiny features make a big difference in the performance, including:

1. A double-door system

   Extreme weather conditions can cause many problems in supply chains, with one of them being humidity, which can lead to condensation which damages the product and time-to-market delay. SkyCell’s patented double-door system prevents humidity changes and condensation from entering hybrid containers by adding an extra layer of protection. In addition, the double-door provides another way to prevent human errors during custom checks when containers are opened.

   A case in point would be an oncology shipping from Frankfurt to Singapore. With Singapore’s humid temperatures, the medicines had to stay between 15°C and 25 °C. The hybrid’s double-door system ensured that the medicines were aptly protected and were not damaged in spite of the humid temperatures in Singapore of 28°C to 32°C. As a result, the products were released directly to the market and thus to patients in need.

2. Shock absorbing feet

   Delicate pharmaceuticals are vulnerable to the rough aspects of cold chain logistics. Shocks and vibrations can cause micro crazes and damage to vital medicines in transport, which in turn drastically increases Root Cause Analysis and CAPA costs, and could put a patient’s life in danger. However, SkyCell’s shock absorbing feet cushion vials from being damaged and can reduce shock transmissibility by up to factor of nine.

   With a rapidly changing pharma industry moving toward biologics, temperature-controlled transport is a crucial part of the pharma supply chain and SkyCell’s hybrid offers a safe, secure and sustainable solution. Designed specifically with the inputs of pharma companies, it aims to help them protect their product from plant to distributor (and up to the hospital level), while the hybrid’s range of case studies validate its effectiveness in creating reliable supply chains.

   Visit the SkyCell website for more information on hybrid solutions or contact sales@skycell.ch.