Pharmaceutical industry succeeds in maintaining temperatures during shipment

As shipping medications from the pharmacy directly to patients at homes is a standard practice today, maintaining proper temperatures during shipment is vital. This is because fluctuations in temperature can shorten the useable life of some medications make some others less effective or, sometimes, dangerous.

At the wrong temperature, some creams can separate, and lozenges can melt which can affect their potency (how well they work) which can be harmful to a patient’s health. 

Insulin is a good example. It should be stored between 2°C and 8°C. At 25°C – a reasonable temperature to expect during warm weather – insulin’s shelf life drops to about six weeks. In that case, the insulin is still safe and effective, but a patient receiving a warm package may return it “just to be safe.” The result is added costs for the pharmacy and inconvenience for the customer.

Tablets and capsules often can be shipped and stored at room temperature or controlled room temperature. Much of the time, thermal packaging isn’t needed to keep these medications between the defined of 20°C and 25°C (68°–77°F), with excursions permitted up to 30°C (86°F), according to the United States Pharmacopeia. When these solid medications become too hot for too long, they still may look the same but might not perform the same anymore. Therefore, it’s important to monitor pharmaceuticals to know, beyond a doubt, that they were handled safely.

Whether medications are shipped across town or across a region, adding a temperature indicator is a smart decision that can save pharmacies time and money in the long run. 

WarmMark is an easy-to-read thermal indicator that turns red when temperature excursions occur. Available in 10 temperature ranges, this temperature indicator features individual dots to signify brief, moderate, or prolonged temperature excursions. Importantly, those terms are defined, and vary based on the temperature threshold of the temperature monitor. For example, “brief” exposure means two hours at 0°C/32°F, but means 30 minutes at 25°C/77°F and above.

Only through adding a temperature-controlled WarmMark indicator to every pharmaceutical shipment, all stakeholders had piece of mind that their sensitive products were delivered in the correct temperature range, preventing any potentially dangerous damages. WarmMark indicators were a non-brainer for this player in the pharmaceutical industry as it was a small price to pay to avoid the much greater costs of failure.