[Zurich/Seoul], 25 January 2021 - SkyCell, one of the leading manufacturer of data-driven temperature-controlled containers for the pharmaceutical industry, has partnered with Korean Air Cargo as it focuses on business development in Korea. The partnership follows SkyCell’s recent launch of a service centre in Seoul and the appointment of Charlie Cho as Business Development Director for Korea as of January 1st.
The partnership comes at a crucial point with the increase in demand for COVID-19 vaccines and treatments this year. Cold-chain maintenance for vaccine transportation is a significant challenge for the global logistics industry, and together SkyCell and Korean Air ensure these lifesaving medicines reach patients timely and in pristine condition.
Eum, Jae Dong, Senior Vice President and Head of Cargo Business Division at Korean Air commented: “We were attracted to the fact that Skycell has recently opened a new station in Seoul, and that its sustainable and self-recharging hybrid containers are in line with our green management policy. Through this agreement, we are pleased to expand our service offering to the pharma industry with SkyCell's hybrid containers and provide our clients with a safe and sustainable solution to protect sensitive products.
Chiara Venuti, Director of Business Development and Head of Airline Partnerships at SkyCell said: “We at SkyCell are proud to partner with Korea Air and ensure vital medicine reach their destinations fast and without spoilage. As we navigate this difficult time together we are committed to helping our partners achieve their goals, and ensure these vital medicines are transported in a safe and timely manner. When shipping vital pharmaceutical products, there is no room for error, and we are happy to support Korean Air to ship pharmaceuticals in a sustainable way.”
The Korean pharmaceutical industry has seen rapid growth over the last five years, growing at an annual rate of around 7%, led by locally developed novel therapies and biosimilars – almost three times faster than the manufacturing sector. Exports of Korean pharmaceuticals grew by 11.2% last year to over $5.19 billion. The partnership will meet the growing demand for hybrid containers as safe and sustainable pharma solutions for sensitive and critical drugs such as oncology drugs.”
SkyCell’s highly innovative hybrid containers allow pharma companies to optimise supply chains using data to predict and control risk. Using over three-quarters of a billion data-points on factors like temperature, location, and time, it enables a market-leading and audited failure rate of less than 0.1 per cent, while reducing CO2 emissions by almost half.
In 2021, Korean Air will continue to work harder to achieve the mission of 'Excellence in Flight'. Last year, Korean Air was awarded the IATA Centre of Excellence for Independent Validators (CEIV) Pharma certification. IATA's 'CEIV Pharma' is an international standard that indicates an airline’s capability to manage pharmaceuticals, including the handling procedure, equipment and facilities. More than 280 check lists are evaluated by validators to authorize the certification. In partnership with SkyCell, Korea Air will continue to meet, and exceed, these standards.”
About SkyCell
SkyCell is the leading manufacturer of temperature controlled door to door container solutions that allows pharma companies to optimise their supply chain by reducing, and even predicting, the risk of delivering temperature sensitive drugs by air. SkyCell brings together big data, software and hardware, transforming pharma logistics with its innovative solutions.
Founded in Switzerland in 2012, the company has been validated by the majority of the top 20 pharma companies. SkyCell is the number three player in the world in temperature-controlled air freight solutions, in a market currently worth USD 2.8 bn per annum and growing at a rate of 15-20%.
About Korea Air
Korean Air, established in 1969, is one of the world's top 20 airlines and carried more than 27 million passengers in 2019, pre-COVID. The airline serves 121 cities in 43 countries on five continents; it has a modern fleet of 159 aircraft and employs over 20,000 professional employees. Its global hub is at Incheon International Airport (ICN) and its core businesses are passenger, cargo, aerospace, and aviation maintenance and repair.
Korean Air is a founding member of the SkyTeam airline alliance – 19 member airlines working together across an extensive global network to welcome 676 million customers each year on more than 15,445 daily flights to 1,036 destinations in 170 countries (pre-COVID.)
Korean Air’s joint venture with Delta Air Lines has produced significant expediency and access to hundreds of destinations in the Americas on Delta and 80 points in Asia on Korean Air. Korean Air and Delta co-locate in Incheon’s beautiful Terminal 2, making connections between Asia and America some of the industry’s quickest.
With more than 50 years of serving the world, Korean Air’s vision is to be a respected leader in the world airline community, dedicated to providing Excellence in Flight. Its commitment to airline safety, cleanliness and comfort are renowned.
More on Korean Air's programs, routes, frequencies and partners is available at koreanair.com, facebook.com/KoreanAir, instagram.com/KoreanAirworld/ and Twitter@KoreanAir_KE.
