Cathay Pharma proves its worth with LAAB shipments
The shipments of Long-acting Antibody for COVID-19 prevention and treatment will be a significant milestone in the COVID-19 response
28 Feb 2023

Since the launch of Cathay Pharma last November, Cathay Cargo has carried hundreds of pharmaceutical shipments, ensuring their safe delivery through compliance to temperature requirements and offering special care in monitoring, handling, storage and transport. Among them was a shipment of the antibody that helps prevent and treat COVID-19 to Thailand in early December 2022.

The Long-acting Antibody combination (LAAB), has been granted conditional marketing approval in Thailand for preventing COVID-19 in a broad population, regardless of vaccination status and treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 in adults and adolescents.

 

The Envirotainer e2 containers were given priority towing, loading and offloading at every stage

LAAB is now the only antibody combination authorised for both COVID-19 prevention and treatment in Thailand that will not only help protect against severe symptoms of COVID-19, but also prevent severe disease and death in those who do become infected. While vaccines remain a critically important tool to reduce severe COVID-19 outcomes, some vulnerable populations are unable to develop adequate protection from vaccination alone.

The LAAB shipments originated in Chicago and arrived in Hong Kong onboard two Cathay Cargo freighter flights loaded in active Envirotainer RAP e2 cooltainers. This helped to ensure that the shipment was kept within the specified temperature range of 2-8°C on board. It then consolidated on to Bangkok in the belly hold of a Cathay Pacific Boeing 777 passenger aircraft.

 

Cathay Cargo trained staff checked and recharged the cooltainers en route

Cathay Cargo Services Manager Jirawit Inyasri in Bangkok worked with colleagues across the network to ensure that shipment was handled with due care on the journey. That included making sure that the hold temperature was set to no more than 20°C on each leg of the flight, and arranging for priority, last on/first off loading. Every detail was considered: from keeping the cooltainers near the door for quick unloading to arranging parking near the Cathay Cargo Terminal to reduce towing times.

‘We also ensured that that on arrival in the new Pharma Handling Centre in Hong Kong that the temperature was correct and that staff recharged the cooltainers for their overnight stay, consolidation and transfer,’ he says. ‘We kept in touch with the forwarder (DHL Global Forwarding (Thailand) Limited) throughout, and the Operation Control Centre in Hong Kong monitored the shipment temperature throughout the journey.’

On arrival in Bangkok, the shipment was immediately towed to a cool room and kept below the required temperature before its delivery to the customer.

Cookies settings


Essential cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off. They are usually only set in response to service requests, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in, or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but then some parts of our site will not work. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable information.

Experience & personalization cookies

These cookies enable our website to provide enhanced functionality and personalization. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies, some of the content in our website will not be customised for you.

Advertising cookies

Advertising cookies collect information about the browsing habits associated with your device and deliver targeted ads. They are also used by third parties providing their services on this website. Third parties provide these services in return for recognising that you have visited a certain website.

Measurement & analytics cookies

We use analytic cookies to analyse how our visitors use our website. This allows us to provide a high quality experience by customising our offerings and identifying and fixing any issues that arise. We may also use these cookies to highlight articles or site services that we think may interest you, based on your usage of the website.

Feedback