Keeping cool with wool

In 2013 the European Commission published a set of “Good Distribution Practice (GDP) Guidelines of Medicinal Products for Human Use”, intended to improve the quality of pharmaceuticals. Since then it has been mandatory to ensure a constant temperature in the storage and transportation of any medication which is subject to cooling requirements. Moreover, this needs to be done uninterruptedly throughout the supply chain between the wholesaler and the pharmacist.

LifeGuardian is transport packaging that keeps the temperature of pharmaceutical products at 2-8°C during transportation and storage and is 100 per cent wool-based. © Woolcool

In all, it tool Woolcool three years to develop LifeGuardian. Unlike standard cooling boxes made from airpop© (formerly polystyrene), the insulation material in LifeGuardian is completely wool-based. The new packaging material allows the transportation and storage of sensitive active ingredients at 2-8°C for up to 150 hours without any detrimental effect. This is twice as long as the current standard period of 72 hours for the cooling of drugs, says the company.

This precise temperature control is made possible through artificial insulation of the wool. Perforation within the inner protective film increases the oxygen exchange of the wool, thus warranting a sufficiently cool temperature of the packaged product. Compared with thermal packaging made from polystyrene, a LifeGuardian box is a quarter of the size and half its weight, while also providing 25 per cent more space for the product.

As well as insulated packaging for pharmaceutical products, Woolcool also makes boxes for the transportation of fresh food. Meat and organic products, in particular, can thus be transported and stored below 5°C for up to 48 hours without compromising quality.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) around half of all vaccines in the world become unusable because of packaging failure. © Messe Düsseldorf

In 2014 German pharmacies dispensed more than 26 million packages of prescription drugs requiring mandatory cooling – in other words, 1,300 units per pharmacy. Source: Deutsches Arzneiprüfungsinstitut (DAPI) © Messe Düsseldorf

The organic food supplier from Wimbledon (UK) uses Woolcool packaging for shipping its food products.

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