Transporting a wide range of products, from everyday items to expensive pharmaceuticals

Katano: Medipal Holdings has three main business segments: "Wholesale of medical drugs, etc.", "Wholesale of cosmetics, daily necessities, and over-the-counter drugs," and "Wholesale of veterinary drugs, food processing ingredients, etc."

SPLine Co., Ltd., the company we work for, plays a part in the wholesale business of prescription pharmaceuticals and other products.

the Company are designing distribution for pharmaceuticals that are used in a small number of cases nationwide, such as regenerative medicine products and gene therapy drugs. These types of pharmaceuticals have also been called specialty pharmaceuticals in recent years.

For example, regulatory T cells became a hot topic recently when Dr. Sakaguchi of Osaka University won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
One therapeutic agent that indirectly involves T cells is a cellular immunotherapy called CAR-T. This treatment involves collecting the patient's own T cells (immune cells), genetically modifying them, and then returning the resulting "CAR-T cells" with enhanced ability to recognize and attack cancer cells to the body. It is considered a new type of "cancer immunogene therapy."
We are conducting sales activities related to these pharmaceuticals targeting pharmaceutical companies.

There are currently approximately 70 prescription pharmaceutical wholesale companies in Japan. As general prescription pharmaceuticals are consumed in large quantities domestically, wholesalers scattered throughout the country are responsible for their transportation. On the other hand, the opposite is true for specialty pharmaceuticals, which need to be distributed to a limited number of patients, so the medical institutions to which they are delivered are also limited, and it is said to be efficient for selected wholesalers to be responsible for transporting them to medical institutions, etc.

With the recent remarkable advances in science and technology, pharmaceutical companies are promoting the development of new medicines (i.e. specialty medicines) using new technologies. We are focusing on sales activities to ensure that our clients entrust us with the transportation of these medicines.

Highlighting pharmaceutical losses due to quality issues and the need to establish traceability

Katano: Depending on the type of pharmaceutical, special containers may be required for transportation, or the appropriate temperature may need to be maintained. The pharmaceuticals we transport can be very expensive per prescription, so we must be extremely careful not to lose any pharmaceuticals. Establishing traceability during transportation is also important.

Previously, when we were transporting pharmaceuticals by sea from Hokkaido, the ship was unable to depart due to the effects of the tsunami caused by the earthquake. At the time, the pharmaceuticals needed to be kept at minus 70°C using dry ice as a refrigerant, but if the dry ice had run out along the way, the pharmaceuticals would have become unusable. We had a very bitter experience, as we were unable to get a clear answer when we checked with the logistics company about the status of the shipment.

Our clients, including pharmaceutical companies, place great importance on ensuring that pharmaceuticals are transported appropriately and properly, and it is important for us to pay close attention to their expectations. Therefore, we have begun working to incorporate a system that can monitor the temperature and location of pharmaceuticals being transported as needed.
However, while comparing various products and services, I was hesitant to take the plunge and implement them, taking into account the price.

Information such as location, temperature, impact, and opening are all visualized together, and the low cost is astonishing.

Mr. Katano: That's when I learned that Macnica 's Transportation/storage condition monitoring and tracking services「Macnica Track® It was a cloud service called "QTS" and a monitoring terminal "QTS" series used in conjunction with it.

Mr. Tomita: Macnica means: 2024 Annual Logistics Exhibition I met him for the first time. Originally, I came to the exhibition to seek the advantage of temperature control, looking for something new, but when I visited Macnica 's booth, I was introduced to the product.

They are multi-loggers that can measure not only temperature, but also humidity, illuminance, vibration, etc., and GPS I thought it was excellent that the location information could be known in real time depending on the function.
Also 1 The cost per unit can be significantly reduced compared to general loggers, and I was surprised at how cheap it is. I immediately shared this information with the company, and the next day I asked Katano to visit Macnica 's booth.

Katano: When I visited, I spoke with the division manager and got the impression that he was very sincere. Above all, the information displayed on the screen of "Macnica Tracks®" is highly accurate, making it a fantastic service.

Ogura: Pharmaceutical companies can feel at ease knowing that the product has not been opened. Of course, they will need to physically check the product when it is opened, but if they can present data from the illuminance sensor, it will be even stronger proof that the product has not been opened.

Tomita: Although there are no clear standards for transporting investigational drugs, pharmaceutical companies sometimes ask us to measure the impact that their packages receive. When we tested it, we were pleased to see that the impact was properly logged.
I also found it convenient that if you set a base in advance, you will be notified by email when you pass through that base.

Katano: Normally, you would have to prepare separate monitoring devices to measure temperature, light intensity, impact, etc., which is extremely time-consuming, but with the QTS series, you only need one device.

Tomita: If the logger is not working properly, the data cannot be measured correctly, and the more devices you use, the greater the risk of this happening. From that perspective, the QTS series, which requires fewer devices, has an advantage.

Ogura: Previously, individual sensor checks were required when loading items onto an aircraft, but the reduction in the number of terminals has reduced the amount of work required. Also, while this is not seen as a major issue in domestic transport, in the case of international transport, where lost baggage is common, being able to check the location of luggage with high accuracy and in real time is an attractive feature.

Katano: When we decide on distribution details with pharmaceutical companies, we sometimes create manuals. In those cases, the actual transportation work is carried out by business companies, including us, so when we create a manual, it's best to keep it as simple as possible. In that sense, the simplicity of Macnica Tracks® is a selling point.

Hoping for further improvements in convenience, this will be the starting point for strengthening our proposal capabilities

Ogura: Currently, we use Macnica Tracks® on the QTS110* terminal when transporting pharmaceuticals that need to be kept at a temperature between 2°C and 8°C.
On the other hand, we also handle pharmaceuticals that require even lower temperatures, such as those using dry ice or liquid nitrogen, so it would be great if we could measure these temperatures in the future, even using an external sensor.

* Operating temperature range:-20℃ to 60℃

Tomita: I've heard that the heat generated by the logger itself, enclosed in the medicine box, may affect the temperature. Therefore, I also think it would be very convenient if there was some kind of accessory that would allow the monitoring terminal to be installed away from the medicine.

Katano: The requests of pharmaceutical companies vary depending on the pharmaceutical products they handle. Strengthening our ability to make proposals, such as designing appropriate routes and preparing backup plans in case of problems, is a very important issue.

We hope to continue to offer better solutions to pharmaceutical companies using the "Macnica Tracks®" and "QTS" series. Above all, we want to thoroughly control the quality of pharmaceuticals shipped from pharmaceutical companies and deliver pharmaceuticals to patients that are of the same quality as when they were shipped.

Related information

"MacnicaTracks®" is an IoT solution equipped with multiple sensors for location information, temperature and humidity, shock detection when dropped, and illuminance.

Transportation/Storage Condition Monitoring and Tracking Terminal - Qualcomm® QTS110

Location Monitoring and Tracking Device - Qualcomm® QTS112