Growth in the pharmaceutical industry means that the worldwide cold chain industry is expected to be worth $6.6 billion (GBP4.2 billion) by the year 2011. The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has played a large part in this growth and pharmaceutical industry companies have been investing in their cold chain operation in the region.
Demand for cold chain facilities is only likely to rise in the coming years, as increases have been seen in the vaccine market, in part due to the spread of the H1N1 virus.
Figures from the Cold Chain Biopharma Logistics Sourcebook 2010 state that by the year 2014 seven of the top ten pharmaceutical products will require cold chain handling and regulations surrounding the monitoring and temperature controls of cold chain handling are likely to increase.
"This activity is being driven by a combination of where the biopharma industry is going - toward more biologics - and the global industry's push into emerging markets," Nick Basta, co-author of the report and editor-in-chief of Pharmaceutical Commerce, was quoted by the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Wholesalers as saying.
