A trend towards personalised door-to-door pharmaceutical shipments could increase demand for airfreight transportation, finds Cathay Cargo.
In the US, personalised door-to-door shipments in some treatment areas are starting to take place. particularly with CGT (cell and gene therapies), noted Toby Griffiths, head of cargo global sales & customer solutions at the airline.
“This represents a potentially material industry shift, leading to an even more complex and diverse end-to-end supply chain,” said Griffiths in Cathay Cargo’s Cargo Pulse newsletter.
“With some of these products being high-value and highly time-sensitive, there will always be a requirement of air freight over longer distances.”
Some medicines have a shelf life of just days, and shipments of such products will depend on express service and precise temperature control.
If this trend expands globally, it could increase market opportunities for the air cargo industry and carriers, suggests Griffiths.
“If this is starting to happen in the US now, we need to start thinking what it might look like globally in five years,” he said.
Currently, many pharmaceutical flows originate in Europe and the US. Griffiths points out: “Our brand recognition is stronger in Asia than in these places. But we have a strong pharma product and a robust network behind us.”
In comparison to use of airfreight for door-to-door pharmaceutical shipments, advances in passive technology, along with cost considerations, have led over the counter pharmaceutical types to shift to ocean freight, pointed out John Lee, regional manager – healthcare vertical, North Asia, for Expeditors.
“If we’re talking about OTC [over the counter]then this goes by sea mostly,” says Lee. “Modal selection is becoming more segmented, with ocean freight supporting certain products, while air remains critical for time- and temperature-sensitive shipments. But if we’re looking at innovative, high-end drugs, most will look at air, because a lot of products have a very short shelf life.”
