Pharma Aero launched to improve cool-chain handling

An alliance officially launched today between Miami International Airport (MIA) and Brussels Airport (BRU) establishes an international pharmaceutical air-hub alliance that will allow the two airports, and future members, to more effectively share strategy and expertise in the movement and handling of pharma products. The organization aims to build a network of airports dedicated to growing the global pharma industry, which the World Health Organization projects will increase in value from US$300 billion to $400 billion within the next three years.

The new organization, called “Pharma Aero,” will focus on airport communities that support certified airports under IATA’s Center of Excellence for Independent Validators (CEIV) program for pharmaceuticals. Both BRU and MIA have earned their CEIV-Pharma designations.

Miami Airport director Emilio Gonzalez explained that the move was an opportunity to leverage the airport’s, “strength as a pharma hub by collaborating with other airports around the world who share a common goal of strengthening pharma certified trade lanes and extending pharma cold supply chains to reach new international markets.” The new organization will focus on three primary activities — networking and events, establishing industry standards and creating a “network of excellence” for its members.

Having spent the last four years working with pharma companies to develop and implement the IATA CEIV Program at Brussels, Steven Polmans, head of cargo sales and marketing at BRU explained that, “there still is a lot of work to be done before we can be considered a true and reliable transport partner for them. We now want to continue strengthening our approach by bringing it to a global level and create end-to-end solutions for the pharma industry. The organization will be very much content-focused, developing solutions and creating transparency in very close cooperation with MIA and the pharma industry.”