IQPC Cold Chain Forum wrap-up

This year’s IQPC Global Cold Chain Forum (Chicago; Sept. 25-29) did not disappoint for news and business developments in the life sciences cold chain community. Some highlights:

• DoKaSH Temperature Solutions (Kelsterbach, Germany) has formally entered the US market with its OptiCooler RKN 1 and RAP 4 active (powered) containers for shipping temperature-sensitive products by air. The units are not exactly new to the market; previously DoKaSch provided the containers to Lufthansa, which marketed them to the pharma industry. DoKaSch says that it is already partnered with 20 air cargo firms, and has units (which are generally leased) on hand in hubs that provide free delivery (of the container) for airports from Boston to Minneapolis in the north, and San Francisco to San Diego in the west, according to Andreas Seitz, managing director.
• A company called Kodiakooler (aka Providence Packaging, Morrisville, NC) is offering insulation liners and bags made of natural fibers (post-industrial, pre-consumer cotton and other fibers) that has been tested to have insulation profiles comparable to EPS foam. The material is biodegradable (including a film coating for the bag) to avoid the disposal costs and environmental hazard of EPS.
• Verizon is combining its national cellular coverage with an Internet of Things (IoT) business unit, and an asset-tracking device to provide cold-chain data-tracking for pharma shipments. Previously, the company had announced a Track and Trace solution for inventory management.
• DuPont Protective Solutions, which has been marketing its Tyvek cargo covers in a variety of configurations for protecting pharma shipments, is now providing a recycling service for the Tyvek covers (Tyvek is composed of long-strand polyethylene fibers). The program is available at no cost to customers.
• Chronicled (San Francisco) is offering a credit-card-sized temperature datalogger that employs NFC (near field communications) RFID chips to collect and transmit data. That application is novel, but the company could be generating yet more interest with its communications network based on blockchain technology, which enables secure data communications. The logger is being offered at $6 or less, based on volume.

The next IQPC event is in Toronto, Feb. 26-March 1; and next year’s Global Cold Chain Forum will be held in Philadelphia, Sept. 24-28.