Mitigating Risk in Critical Environments

Vaisala’s Life Science business is organized around mitigating risk for life science companies. We design, manufacture, and install systems for monitoring critical assets and environments. Our systems provide early warning that something is amiss, such as the breakdown of refrigeration systems storing valuable pharmaceutical products. The benefits to our customers are clear: our systems can identify potential problems before they materialize, but the benefits to society are just as significant. Anyone who consumes pharmaceutical products has an expectation that the drugs are safe and effective.

Degrees of Difference

All pharmaceutical products are sensitive to temperature. This is especially true for biopharmaceutical products such as vaccines. A vaccine that is exposed to temperatures beyond the recommended storage range of 2 to 8 degrees Celsius is subject to loss of efficacy. Large temperature excursions or small but extended excursions can render the vaccine useless. Each year millions of dollars of vaccines are damaged before they arrive at the point of usage, but the larger cost comes from people who are vaccinated with products that are thought to be effective when actually they are not.
Vaisala has recently installed its Continuous Monitoring Systems in more than 20 locations for a large drug distribution company. Sensors monitor temperature and humidity throughout each facility, including the refrigerated rooms. Hundreds of thousands of vaccine doses move through these rooms every year. The CMS provides alerts when any temperature deviations are detected and creates records to show that the facility has been in compliance with regulatory requirements. Vaccine quality is assured as it moves one more step through the supply chain.

Traceable Conditions through the Entire Cold Chain

Vaisala has worked with life science firms for many years. Our Life Science business understands that pharmaceutical supply chains can be very long. We have extended our monitoring solutions to many parts of the supply chain, including manufacturing facilities, drug distribution centers, and freight terminals that handle temperature sensitive products. With one of our products, the Vaisala CCL100 Cold Chain Logger, we intend to begin bridging the gaps between static locations in the supply chain. The CCL100 is designed to “ride along” with temperature sensitive products, monitoring their temperature while in transit. With the addition of this functionality, it will become possible to link temperature related data from start to finish through the entire supply chain.
Vaisala works hand in hand with life science companies to keep people and products safe. We live our values by bringing innovations to the market and focusing on the greater good, looking for opportunities to shape a better society.