Life Sciences and Pharmaceutical

Cold Chain Management

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of an efficient cold chain management like never before. In order to stay effective, the vaccine needs to be stored within a strict temperature range. For example, Pfizer vaccine must be stored at -70°C (-94°F), while Moderna requires -20°C (-4°F). Even a slightest deviation will result in the degraded vaccine that must be discarded. A study by International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimates that the total losses due to the temperature excursions reach $35 billion. Lost product costs alone amount to over $15 billion.

Precise and continuous monitoring is the key to keeping the vaccine effective, but it is not an easy task. From the manufacturing facility to the administration site, the vaccine shipment goes through multiple stops, such as distributor warehouses, while being transported by air, sea, or land. Last mile delivery is usually done by a truck or a van. A.N. Solutions offers scalable IoT-enabled tools and platform elements to ensure the consistent environmental conditions through all these steps.

Benefits:

• Real-time tracking helps optimize the delivery logistics
• Instant temperature change alerts allow to take a preventive action and save the valuable shipment
• All sensor data can be stored in the cloud for easy access via a web-based backend portal or a mobile app
• IoT extensions can be integrated into existing systems and platforms

Other Application Areas

Designed by A.N. Solutions, rugged self-contained IoT devices enable efficient monitoring and control solutions for the highly regulated pharmaceutical industry in the following application areas:

• Incubators
  Incubators are widely used in the pharmaceutical industry for growing microbiological or cell cultures. An IoT monitoring and control solution allows to maintain the exact combination of temperature and humidity in the insulated chamber at all times.
• Steam Sterilizers
  Steam sterilization of tools and materials in an autoclave is an efficient method that has been used for many decades. IoT technology empowers the process automation by enabling the monitoring and control of the key parameters such as temperature, pressure, and more.
• Dry Heat Sterilizers
  Dry heat provides another method of sterilization that is often used for the removal of pyrogens from glass or metal surfaces. Rugged IoT sensors allow the monitoring and control of the conditions inside a dry heat oven.
• Freezers
  Freezers and fridges are essential for storing pharma and biotech products at temperatures required to prevent their degradation. It takes rugged and robust IoT sensing nodes to operate in sub-zero temperatures.
• Freeze Dryers
  Freeze drying, also known as lyophilization, is an important process used to extend the shelf-life of live vaccines and other pharmaceutical and biotech products. Temperature, pressure, and time intervals are critical parameters that need to be monitored and controlled to ensure the successful outcome.

Rugged IoT-Enabled Solutions

IoT devices must be extremely reliable and rugged in order to get the job done. Capable of ultra-precise sensing of various environmental parameters, A.N. Solutions helps to design primary cell battery-powered wireless products to operate in the harshest environmental conditions, such as -90°C to +145°C temperature range. For the device design, we carefully select appropriate and durable materials and components, and ensure RoHS and REACH compliance.

An effective and intuitive antenna design is another critical consideration that ensures a reliable wireless data transmission. A.N. Solutions’ engineers excel in complex antenna design, and will help to find an optimum solution for the required performance, including range, battery life, environmental factors, size, cost, manufacturability, and more.