Scott Whyte, chief digital officer at AeroSafe Global, looks at how control towers in pharma can help bolster the supply chain for drugs.
Control towers in the traditional sense are integral to safe air travel. Operators are stationed in tall structures for 360-degree visibility of air traffic, along with radar technologies to augment what can be seen visually, and radio communications to relay vital updates to pilots. It’s safe to say that most travellers and crew members would not fly without support from air traffic personnel sitting in the tower.
While biopharmaceutical supply chain control towers lack the soaring height of their air traffic counterparts, they offer visibility to ensure that prescribed medications arrive at their destination safely – particularly those that are temperature controlled. Today most newly approved medications have strict temperature control and handling requirements. Yet according to a 2019 IQVIA Institute study, the pharmaceutical industry loses around $35 billion annually for temperature-related product issues. With mRNA-based treatments accelerating along with precision medicine and other biologic drug discoveries, the need for strict thermal control will only increase in urgency.