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Distribution and central storage of the vaccines will be at Kuehne+Nagel’s pharma hub in Europe
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Vaccines will be distributed to markets in Europe, Asia, Middle East and Africa, and parts of the Americas
Biotechnology company Moderna, Inc. has tapped logistics firm Kuehne+Nagel to provide central storage for the COVID-19 Vaccine Moderna and handle the vaccine’s international distribution.
The international supply chain arrangement was agreed upon and announced following the granting of conditional marketing authorization by the European Medicines Agency for the Moderna vaccine, said Kuehne+Nagel in a January 7 release.
Kuehne+Nagel will support the worldwide distribution of vaccine doses from Moderna’s international supply chain that is based in Europe. This includes distribution to markets in Europe, Asia, Middle East and Africa, and parts of the Americas.
The arrangement includes distribution and warehousing of the vaccine from Kuehne+Nagel’s pharma hub in Europe. The logistics service provider will use its network of more than 230 operations worldwide to distribute the vaccine via road and air. In Europe alone, the company operates its own fleet of over 200 dedicated pharmaceutical transport vehicles.
At all stages of transport and storage, product integrity at the required temperature of -20°C will be maintained.
Robert Coyle, senior vice president of pharma & healthcare at Kuehne + Nagel International AG, said: “With today’s announcement, we take on the responsibility to distribute Covid-19 Vaccine Moderna around the world. We have invested in our pharma & healthcare network and our global team of experts for decades—we are ready now, for when it matters the most.”
Kuehne+Nagel’s clinical trial logistics subsidiary QuickSTAT has been an integral part of Moderna’s vaccine supply chain as well, having supported Phase II and Phase III clinical trial supply logistics in the US.
Kuehne+Nagel has also signed partnerships with authorities in several countries for local storage and last-mile distribution, such as in Germany’s most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia.
Photo courtesy of Kuehne+Nagel
