The recent Covid-19 pandemic has underlined that an organised and well-prepared logistics and supply chain is pivotal to the successful outcome of delivering essential medical supplies such as Covid-19 vaccines and therapeutic drugs. This has led to the first international joint initiative between the air cargo industry and world-renowned academic institutions to organise a masterclass, which the current critical aspects of pharma logistics will be covered. The Pharma Logistics Masterclass is a unique opportunity for industry professionals to gain more in-depth knowledge, as well as for academics and PhD students to obtain advanced insights into how pharmaceutical supply chains are organised and logistics processes are optimised through applied technology for the pharma and life science sector.

Roel Gevaers, Dr PhD, University of Antwerp Belgium and Chairman of this international Masterclass said, “Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, it is clear that the vaccines and pharma supplies will be the way to our renewed freedom. This pandemic was a perfect example why effective pharma supply chains and logistical flows are of major importance in our worldwide society. From government as from industry perspective, special attention will be paid towards the logistics of pharma for the years to come.”

Tom O’ Brien, Dr. PhD, California State University, Long Beach California USA and Deputy Director of the METRANS Transportation Consortium and Co-chair said, “The pandemic has elevated the profile of the global supply chain in ways we could not have predicted 18 months ago. Now the challenge is to tell the story of the various supply chains that make up the system of systems. Pharma Logistics is one of those. I am thrilled that we can help share some of the North American perspective on the topic, including Long Beach’s now much studied approach to vaccine rollout. The story of the logistics is in part the story of its success. Disseminating this kind of information is part of METRANS’ mission.”