PRESS RELEASE: PHARMA.AERO WELCOMES TWO NEW MEMBERS
At the recent Air Cargo India (Mumbai, 25-27 Feb 2020), Pharma.Aero hosted for the second consecutive time a successful Pharma Shipper Forum. During the half-day Forum, Airports, Pharma Shippers and other stakeholders of the airfreight industry clustered to discuss the imminent air logistics challenges, expectations and innovations. The successfully concluded Forum underlined Pharma.Aero’s ambitions to shape the pharma air transportation industry’s future by creating strong synergies and cooperation.
Glyn Hughes, Global Head of Cargo, IATA summarized the forum, “Pharma.Aero has achieved a significant amount of progress for the industry in such a short period of time. Congratulations to all members involved in the various projects which have moved the industry forward with the mission of co-creating supply chain standards and visibility. This is being achieved through a focus on some key core areas. Forging community-based collaboration with shipper-led priorities to build trust in the system. Establishment of a data-sharing platform and overcoming reluctance to share information creating enhanced transparency. Creating airport to airport pharma-corridors with integrated mapping to reduce risk of shipment excursions. And looking at continuous performance evaluation and improvements to ensure the projected double-digit demand can be satisfied with high quality solutions. These collective activities are performed with one objective in mind, to ensure that the industry continues to deliver lifesaving products at the right time in the right condition to ensure patient benefits and treatments can be fulfilled. Millions of patients around the world are successfully treated daily as a result of these lifesaving treatments. In these difficult times, it is great in a way to see that the major key message is Strengthen knowledge through collaboration.”
Two New Members
At the sidelines of the Air Cargo India, Pharma.Aero proudly announced two new Full Members to its air pharma network: Etihad Cargo and Air India SATS.
Etihad Cargo, the cargo and logistics arm of Etihad Airways, positions itself as the first Middle East airline to hold both of IATA’s CEIV Fresh and CEIV Pharma certifications, and one of the two carriers globally to claim this dual honour.
Andre Blech, Head of Cargo Operations and Delivery at Etihad Aviation Group, said, “Our membership with Pharma.Aero is a testament to the progress Etihad Cargo has made over the past 18 months as we continue to drive forward our ambition to provide reliable end-to-end air transportation for perishable and pharmaceutical shippers.”
Air India SATS, being a joint venture between Air India Limited and SATS Limited, was formed with the vision to provide world-class airport services in ground and cargo handling solutions to its customer airlines.
“We are delighted to be a part of the Pharma.Aero ecosystem. To be included in their network is a key milestone for AISATS as we pursue industry collaboration to aid our long-term goal of building a pharma corridor in India. As an industry leader in air cargo, we are committed to driving strategic growth, overcome new challenges, and support our industry to achieve excellence in reliable end-to-end air transportation for pharma shippers”, said Mr. Ravinder Bolangdy, Head Cargo, AISATS.
Nathan De Valck, Chairman of Pharma.Aero confirmed, “We welcome Etihad Cargo and AISATS into the Pharma.Aero community and look forward to their active contribution in our project groups to further improve air pharma handling processes in collaboration with the pharmaceutical manufacturers. As the first Middle East carrier to join Pharma.Aero, Etihad Cargo marks the expansion of our global membership into that region. Air India SATS will further strengthen the very active Indian community within the Pharma.Aero network.”
Announcement of Pharma.Aero Webinars
In relation to the current COVID-19 crisis and the impact on the life science and MedTec air freight sector, Pharma.Aero, in collaboration with STAT Trade Times, will be launching 3 executive webinars. The webinars will feature a line-up of world opinion leaders and experts of our industry.
The webinars are planned as follows:
- 7th May 2020, “Current impact of COVID-19 on Life Science and MedTec Sector Airfreight”
- 28th May 2020, “The Day After COVID-19: How Collaboration Can Prepare Us for the Impact”
- 18th June 2020, “The Future: Will Life Science and MedTec Air Cargo Supply Chain be Completely Different?”
The webinars will be planned from 1 to 2.30 pm CET respectively.