B Medical Systems and SEEDR are joining forces to bring to the market a new cold chain solution to help solve the global challenge of keeping vaccines safe and effective against extreme heat and freezing temperatures. The Luxembourg- and US-based companies took on the challenge of developing a new range of intelligent Grade-A passive freeze-free vaccine technology. The new devices are now under review by the WHO standards and safety division. They promise to help protect millions of children from infectious diseases by ensuring potent vaccines in the remotest locations of the world.

“At B Medical Systems, we have been innovating reliable cold chain technologies for 35 years, not only for market solutions, but to first and foremost ensure every child a healthy life. In 1979, the WHO approached us to provide a solution to safely store and transport vaccines around the world. Since then, we have been driven by the ambition to continuously create medical devices that respond directly to the obstacles countries face to equitably safeguard their children’s health,” comments Luc Provost, CEO of B Medical Systems.

According to UNICEF, an estimated 19.9 million infants worldwide were not reached with routine immunization services in 2017. As vaccines are temperature-sensitive, their transport requires a constant temperature between 2-8°C all the way from the manufacturer to the end-users. Even when it comes to populations living in the remotest rural areas of the world, they must remain cold. Insulated transport technologies help shield vaccines from damage caused by heat. Yet too much ice can cause them to freeze. Once exposed to sub-zero temperatures, approximately 85% of routine vaccines lose their potency. They must be immediately discarded or risk vaccinating children with an ineffective, or worse, harmful antigen. Studies of cold chain performance show that between 75 and 100% of vaccine shipments are exposed to freezing temperatures.

A well-needed technology

The partnership between B Medical Systems and SEEDR will launch the next generation of intelligent vaccine carriers and transport boxes using new production technologies and materials. The new devices will prevent inadvertent vaccine freezing and help ensure every child is protected against vaccine-preventable diseases. The technology will therefore answer the call to industry put out from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. Gavi spends over $1 billion a year to help countries vaccinate over 60 million children annually. It has called for new cold chain technology to help countries keep pace with the massive increase in the value and quantity of vaccines.

“85% of low and middle-income countries have inadequate vaccine distribution systems, affecting millions of children each year. Clinical diagnostics and disease surveillance systems facing similar cold chain challenges affect tens of millions more. The collaboration combines the best in design, engineering, and manufacturing with insights and input from governments, logisticians, and healthcare providers in the field. The products will accelerate a step-change improvement in access to quality care at scale,” adds Michael Moreland, SEEDR’s founder.

SEEDR and B Medical Systems have already commenced work focused on the optimization, manufacturing, and commercialization of the new devices. The new product family will not only provide Grade-A freeze protection. It will also provide several other powerful new features to revolutionize the broader passive transport industry for a range of temperature-sensitive biologics. Those include blood and plasma, biological samples for diagnostics and surveillance, vaccines and other pharmaceuticals.