Blog

Bengaluru-based Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (C-CAMP) on Tuesday announced its partnership with Hitachi ABB Power Grids in India, to provide public healthcare systems in the Southern metros of Bengaluru, Mysuru, and Chennai with an indigenously developed, innovative, portable cold chain transport device for efficient vaccine delivery.

According to the company, this C-CAMP-supported innovation integrates an emerging technology in cold chain with easy accessibility and operability features that can address the critical issue of last mile vaccine spoilage due to thermal degradation in commonly used iceboxes.

The CSR grant received from Hitachi ABB Power Grids in India will help C-CAMP introduce it to urban, semi-urban and rural primary healthcare centres (PHCs) in Southern India, it stated. C-CAMP has already made some inroads in remote locations of North-Eastern India with its technology.

Dr Taslimarif Saiyed, C-CAMP CEO and Director, said,

“According to a WHO report, more than 50 percent of vaccine wastage takes place during distribution, particularly at last-mile delivery. We cannot afford such a colossal wastage at a time when the nation is facing a severe shortfall in vaccines. 

Our partnership with Hitachi ABB Power Grids in India will help deploy an innovative new cold chain device to plug this enormous gap, ease logistics pressures and ensure 100 percent vaccine efficacy as we gear up to inoculate 1 billion plus people. The partnership is also a shining example of a global, ecosystem-driven PPP to not only provide immediate relief support to the affected but also bring India’s indigenous Covid care innovations to the limelight.”

The innovation is a portable battery-operated medical-grade refrigeration unit whose unique selling propositions are pre-set temperatures, strict temperature-control and easy portability. Its thermoregulation properties are further boosted by advanced algorithms that have been proven to maintain a stable and uniform World Health Organization (WHO)-prescribed 2-8°C temperature environment despite heavy handling and high/low ambient temperatures.

Speaking about the new partnership, N Venu, CEO and Managing Director, Hitachi ABB Power Grids in India, said,

“India is striving to vaccinate over a billion people at a fast clip. Hence, every vial must be preserved well for full effectiveness. For that, we must address the need for last-mile cold chain carriers. With C-CAMP, we will lend support to much-needed innovations and also assist remote healthcare centres to relieve the economic burden of wasted vaccines. This is yet another way, we as part of India Inc., are putting our weight behind the country’s COVID-19 relief efforts.”

As a part of this project, C-CAMP will facilitate deployment at government health departments of Bengaluru, Mysuru, and Chennai over next six months.