Brussels and Miami airports launch global pharma organisation

Brussels and Miami airports are to set up a global organisation focused on improved pharmaceuticals handling and quality in the air cargo supply chain.
Pharma.aero will focus on airport communities that "embrace" IATA’s Centre of Excellence for Independent Validators Pharma (CEIV Pharma) programme and are looking to further build on the expertise gained.
The ultimate goals of the organisation are to achieve, together with the pharma manufacturers, lane certification for pharma transport by air, increasing quality and transparency.
Other members and individual companies will be able to join Pharma.aero “if they share the same objectives and goals of the organisation", said a spokesman, adding: “The objective however will not be to have as many members as possible, but to focus on quality and content.”
Brussels Airport was the first and is still the largest CEIV community in the world after launching the programme with IATA towards the end of 2014.
Last year, Miami was the first airport to organise a similar community setup in the Americas. Both airports have been working together and sharing ideas in the past year on the topic of pharma and cool chain and “wish to continue to do so in an even more formal and structured way”. This has led to the creation of the new organisation.
Steven Polmans, head of cargo at Brussels Airport, said: “In the past three to four years, we have been working very closely with the pharma manufacturers which has resulted in the IATA CEIV Programme we organised at Brussels.
“This continuous dialogue has taught us that there still is a lot of work to be done before we can consider us as a true and reliable transport partner for them.”
Polmans added: “We now want to continue and strengthen our approach by bringing it on a global level to create end to end solutions for the pharma industry.
“The organisation will be very much content focused, developing solutions and creating transparency in very close co-operation with the pharma industry”.
Miami Airport (MIA) director Emilio Gonzalez said: “As the busiest US airport for international freight, perishable imports and temperature-controlled products, MIA seized the opportunity to further grow the local pharmaceutical transport industry by rallying the local cargo community and engaging them in the IATA CEIV Pharma certification programme.
“After becoming the first IATA-designated pharma hub airport in the US, we now turn our efforts to leveraging our strength as a pharma hub by collaborating with other airports around the world who share a common goal of strengthening pharma certified trade lanes and extending pharma cold supply chains to reach new international markets.”
The new organisation will have three main activities: Networking and events, standard setting and a “network of excellence” for its members
Standard setting will include benchmarking, creation of standard protocols, joint projects and innovation, while the network of excellence will share best practices, audit support and the setting up of a knowledge centre.
Said a Pharma.aero spokesman: “Some details still need to be finalised, but by October the organisation will be launched officially and more details and information given. At that time, some other members will be announced too, including some pharma manufacturers.”