The UK prime minister announced this year that the greatest threat facing the country was not a terror attack nor climate change, but a flu pandemic. If this is the case, argues Neil Smith, technical support manager at Aggreko, temporary storage of flu vaccine should be an industry priority
The national focus on the threat of a flu pandemic1 is just one driver in the expanding winter market for cold and flu remedies. Last November, UK Health Secretary Alan Johnson announced his intention to double the size of the flu vaccine stockpile, and drugs companies have been boosting production throughout 2008. The market for other cold and flu medicines has also grown dramatically, to an annual turnover of £213m in the UK.
However, companies that need to limit production due to insufficient storage space often don't profit from this increased market as much as they should. Finding extra storage space usually means either erecting temporary storage facilities or converting existing space within a plant.
But in this drive to increase production, product quality can be compromised if temporary storage is not set up correctly. Often the problem - and the solution - lies in the control of humidity and temperature.
In recent years, instances of improper vaccine storage have been more widely reported. An estimated 17-37% of providers expose vaccines to improper storage temperatures2 and, surprisingly, refrigerator temperatures are more commonly kept too cold than too warm.3
The influenza vaccine, for example, must be stored between 2ËšC and 8ËšC. If the temperature within the storage facility drops to freezing or below, the potency of the vaccine will be dramatically reduced. If the temperature rises above 8ËšC, the "use by" date on the packaging can become invalid. It is therefore vital that specialist temperature control engineers, such as those from Aggreko, are called in to install high quality temporary equipment in the most efficient way.
Demand for cold and flu remedies in both capsule and powder form has also increased in recent years and in both cases dehumidification of storage is essential, made even more so by this year's warm, wet summer and the high relative humidity.
Temporary moisture control can be installed to maintain the humidity of temporary storage and can also be used to increase existing dehumidification throughout a plant in periods of warm and wet weather.
Even if manufacturers have sufficient storage space, temporary generators, chillers and dehumidifiers can be part of plans to ensure that in the event of power loss or equipment failure, medicine is not wasted. Many plants choose to have temporary generators and chillers on site during periods of intensive stockpiling to reduce the risk of product loss. Others have a 24/7 contingency plan in place to install temporary equipment in the event of an emergency.
When increased demand for drugs forces a rise in production, manufacturers must find ways to increase capacity. In the end, the equation is simple: greater productivity plus more temporary infrastructure to meet peak demands, properly managed, equals increased profit.