K+N opens Brussels and Johannesburg pharma hubs ahead of Covid vaccine

Ahead of the anticipated widespread distribution of Covid-19 vaccines, which are being tested and trialed as part of various programmes around the globe, Kuehne+Nagel (K+N) has opened new pharma hubs in Brussels, Belgium, and Johannesburg, South Africa.

Both facilities are GxP-certified and have dedicated areas for temperature-sensitive products to be stored at different ranges: below -20°C; 2°C to 8°C; and 15° to 25°C.

In addition, the facilities are able to add dry ice, if required, for shipments where temperatures need to be maintained below -60°C.

The Brussels hub has 15,546 sq m of storage space and has connections to the recently extended Geel Contract Logistics pharma warehousing facility, as well as the pan-European K+N PharmaChain road logistics network.

The Johannesburg facility was built to accommodate both lower deck and main deck pallet sizes and has temperature-controlled KN PharmaChain dollies available to maintain products’ temperature during transfer from the plane to the warehouse.

Yngve Ruud, member of the management board at K+N, and an overseer of the company’s air logistics, commented: “Today, new pharma and healthcare products tend to be more valuable, more temperature-sensitive and have additional requirements for storage and transportation conditions. Such capabilities and facilities are not easily available globally.

“The new hubs in Brussels and Johannesburg will ensure that our pharma and healthcare customers can fully rely on K+N to handle the specific challenges of integrity as well as provide end-to-end visibility and regulatory compliance along the logistics journey of their sensitive products. So, they can focus on the health and well-being of their patients; because this is what matters the most.”

K+N currently has more than 230 GxP-certified locations around the world, which includes its pharma hubs located in the US, the UK, Denmark, Spain, Luxembourg, Italy, France, Singapore, India, Panama, the UAE and Australia.

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