The latest generation of temperature controlled packaging from Laminar Medica is enabling PATH to ship clinical trials vaccines safely and securely as part of its Meningitis Vaccine Project (MVP)
PATH is an international non-profit organisation that improves the health of people around the world, The technology ensures that the vaccines remain at a consistent temperature, between +2 and +8C, for the duration of their journey from India to Africa, safeguarding the integrity of the vaccines and the accuracy of the test results obtained.
PATH creates sustainable, culturally relevant solutions, enabling communities worldwide to break longstanding cycles of poor health.
By collaborating with diverse public- and private-sector partners, the organisation helps to provide appropriate health technologies and vital strategies that change the way people think and act.
In 2001, PATH established the Meningitis Vaccine Project in partnership with the World Health Organisation (WHO).
The mission of MVP is to eliminate epidemic meningitis as a public health problem in sub-Saharan Africa through the development, testing, introduction, and widespread use of conjugate meningococcal vaccines.
For the clinical trials to be successfully implemented, MVP required a packaging solution that would ensure the integrity of the vaccines used.
Elisa Marchetti PhD, clinical operations manager for MVP, explained, "During the first phase of the clinical trials, the vaccines used were shipped within India, so our packaging requirements were relatively straightforward.
"However, for the subsequent studies, the vaccines needed to be shipped from India to various African countries, always via Europe, introducing a much wider range of ambient temperatures and significantly extending shipping times.
"As a result, a considerably more sophisticated method of controlling the temperature of the vaccines en route was required.
"With the tight schedule of the MVP clinical trials, developing a solution in house was not viable.
"Therefore, we decided to source a pre-tested and proven system from a specialist provider of temperature controlled packaging.
"Having had particularly positive experiences using Laminar Medica products in the past, we approached them for a solution".
Following a consultation with MVP to determine their particular requirements, Laminar Medica supplied the organisation with its Chilltherm46 shipping system, which is able to keep the contents between +2 and +8C for up to 96 hours.
The 46 litre containers are able to accommodate a large number of the vaccines while retaining their compact dimensions, enabling shipping costs and logistical issues to be minimised.
MVP is pleased with the results, "The Chilltherm system has enabled us to ship the vaccines from India for the phase II trial with the reassurance that their integrity will be intact when the vaccines arrive at their destination in the different African countries.
"This trust in the packaging system has been an essential element in the trials, as any errors could have resulted in a loss of millions of dollars in research and planning".
