Cargolux passes GDP renewal audit, others go it alone

Cargolux Airlines has once again passed its GDP (Good Distribution Practice) audit, validating its GDP certification. The company’s management system continues to meet the requirements of the E.U. directive, “Guidelines on Good Distribution Practice of Medicinal Products for Human Use,” and of World Health Organization guidelines.

As carriers look to pharma cargo for the next windfall, certifications from GDP and from IATA’s CEIV-Pharma program are popping up around the world to boost the confidence of shippers in the integrity of the supply chain. A key element in these programs is the extension of these standards to apply to the entire supply chain, including forwarders and ground handlers.

Other carriers, such as Virgin Atlantic, are choosing to go it alone, arguing that their facilities and practices stand on their own. Virgin Atlantic Cargo bolstered its investment in temperature-controlled services last year, after doubling its share of the pharma trade from the U.K. to North America since the launch of its Cool Chain product in 2014.

Back at Cargolux, Franco Nanna, Cargolux director of global logistics services, said that, “at a micro level, we need to demonstrate at all times that we govern the ever-growing sophisticated needs of the global healthcare supply chain pertinently and transparently. The GDP re-certification underlines Cargolux’s strong commitment to the safe and expedient movement of high-value, temperature-sensitive healthcare goods across its global network.”