Page 32 - Logistics News April 2021

News
Imperial Logistics to import
SA’s COVID-19 vaccines
By Luke Daniel, courtesy Business Insider SA
SOUTH AFRICA’S health department has enlisted private
companies to assist with the importation, warehousing,
transporting and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. Imperial
Logistics has been selected as South Africa’s preferred
private import service provider, according to a recent
contract circular published by the National Department of
Health.
Together with the government-partnered Biologicals
and Vaccines Institute of Southern Africa (Biovac), Imperial
Logistics will be responsible for getting vaccines into the
country. This includes providing “cold chain solutions” for
temperature-sensitive vaccines.
But the company said it could not yet talk about pricing.
“We are still in the process of finalising the terms of the
contracts, so at this stage it is not possible to provide
precise details,” says Esha Mansingh, Executive Vice
President of Corporate A airs and Investor Relations at
Imperial Logistics.
“The only detail we can provide is as follows... Imperial,
along with Biovac, is an approved importer of the COVID-19
vaccine. In order to import medicines into SA you need
to be a registered pharma company. Imperial holds the
requisite license via the Market Access Business (Eden
Pharma SA). Going forward, each time an order is ready for
collection, Imperial and Biovac will be asked to quote for the
worked involved.”
The Department of Health issued a request for proposals
(RFP) to assist with its staggered vaccine rollout on 8
February. Imperial Logistics, which employs over 25,000
people in 26 countries, confirmed its interest in the RFP
shortly after it was published.
Under the new contract, Imperial Logistics is responsible
for collecting COVID-19 vaccines from the manufacturer’s
production site and facilitating international carriage to
South Africa, covering import and export documentation,
foreign airport charges, insurance and customs clearance.
In the immediate term, these importation responsibilities
concern the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine which is produced
abroad. The health department expects 6.5 million doses of
the Pfizer vaccine to arrive in May, out of a total 30 million
due to be delivered by the end of 2021.
The Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccine, which was only
recently released from its momentary pause, is being
produced by Aspen Pharmaceuticals in Gqeberha and will
not need to be imported. Imperial Logistics will, however,
transport the J&J doses from the Gqeberha factory to
key distribution points around South Africa, according to
MoneyWeb.
Government says most internationally acquired
vaccines will arrive at OR Tambo International Airport in
Johannesburg, “although there may be instances when
Cape Town International Airport or King Shaka International
Airport will be used.” •
30
DSV Healthcare wins tender
to distribute P zer vaccines
Courtesy www.iol.co.za
DSV HEALTHCARE has been awarded the
tender from the National Department of Health
to distribute the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19
mRNA vaccine to vaccination centres across
South Africa. This award is shared with The
Biovac Institute, a public-private partnership.
In a statement issued, MD of DSV Healthcare,
Anthony Diack, said they were pleased to
be able to utilise its existing infrastructure
and capability to serve the South African
community alongside the National Department
of Health.
He added that DSV is the largest private
distributor of cold chain products to the public
and private sectors in South Africa and has
the experience, infrastructure and cold chain
capabilities to support the national initiative
to vaccinate communities around the country.
Diack said these expertise are especially crucial
when handling the Pfizer vaccine, which needs
to be stored, handled and distributed at -70˚C.
“The extremely low temperatures at which
the Pfizer vaccine needs to be handled are, of
course, a challenge which supports the need
for the appropriate cold chain capabilities and a
well-developed certified distribution network,”
Diack says. “DSV has one of the largest
GDP compliant cold rooms in the southern
hemisphere and has spent many years investing
in South African infrastructure and developing
these specialised handling skills for both 2-8˚C
and -70 ˚C, so I am confident we can bring
the vital doses to the communities safely and
securely.”
It is expected that the first doses will arrive
in the country in the first week of May, followed
by sampling and upon issuance of the Stability
Certification, the distribution of the first doses
will commence. •
April 2021 | Logistics News