K+N expands San Juan pharma hub

Kuehne + Nagel (K+N) has expanded its KN PharmaChain logistics network with temperature-controlled warehousing space at the growing pharma hub of San Juan in Puerto Rico.
“With the new facility, we expand our KN PharmaChain footprint to now over 150 global fully GXP compliant stations,” said Bob Mihok, president and chief executive of K+N North America.
“Broadening the scope of our San Juan operation confirms K+N’s commitment to exceeding the logistics needs of our global healthcare customers, many of whom have operations in Puerto Rico.”
San Juan has seen a number of airlines, including United, DHL, Cargolux, Northern Air Cargo and CAL add freighter or bellyhold capacity to the Caribbean island’s pharma cluster.
The K+N San Juan facility offers cold storage from 2° to 8° Celsius, dry ice and gel pack capabilities to cool down temperature-controlled shipments in transit, plus GDP/GXP best storage and distribution practices.
Additional facility features include accreditation as Qualified Envirotainer Provider (QEP), gated entrance accessed by authorised personnel with badge permits only, 24 unit load device (ULD) charge stations, and an electric generator dedicated for the cool zone area.
K+N has been in Puerto Rico since 1999 and its operation is just one mile from Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (SJU).
The Puerto Rico Industrial Development Co a government agency, describes Puerto Rico as “one of the most important biopharmaceutical manufacturing centres in the world, with more than 50 years of experience in pharmaceutical manufacturing and 30-plus years of experience in sterile pharmaceutical manufacturing”.
In 2015, Puerto Rico accounted for 24% of all pharmaceutical and medicine exports from the US.