CEVA Logistics has opened a pharma airfreight facility near Singapore’s Changi International Airport, which will serve as its “strategic healthcare logistics hub” in the Asia Pacific region.

The hub is located in the Free Trade Zone within the airport’s logistics park, facilitating “seamless regional distribution” and “quick turnaround times” for connecting to global markets.

The facility’s proximity to local seaports, combined with reefer container options, also enables customers to access more environmentally friendly ocean freight transportation.

Features of the new facility include two temperature-controlled areas, capable of storing goods between 15 to 25 degrees Celsius and 2 to 8 degrees Celsius.

Additional solutions such as Controlant — an automated control tower workflow tool — and Validaide, a risk assessment tool on lane validations, will also be available for customers to ensure reliability and compliance.

CEVA said the opening of its Singapore healthcare hub is part of its plan to invest in and open 40 global pharma stations by the end of this year, ultimately bolstering its Temperature Sensitive Solution.

Its healthcare hubs in Atlanta, Chicago, Frankfurt, Madrid, Budapest and Mumbai are scheduled to open in the coming months.

“In all, the stations will allow CEVA to not only service major healthcare gateways in regional markets, like Asia Pacific, but also to supply more than 1,450 healthcare trade lanes globally,” the company said.

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CEVA’s investment in its pharma capabilities come as the global rollout of coronavirus vaccines continues.

CEVA’s ForPatients suite of healthcare logistics is comprised of: temperature sensitive solutions, pharma and biopharma, medical devices, consumer health, hospital and home care, as well as diagnostic and laboratory services.

Elaine Low, managing director for Southeast Asia and Pacific at CEVA Logistics, commented: “As CEVA’s first airfreight cold chain facility in Singapore, this is a timely investment for healthcare logistics. This air hub is now capable of supporting the regional distribution of vaccines and other pharmaceutical supplies that are critically needed in Southeast Asia at the moment. In addition, our healthcare customers will benefit from the range of value-added services, such as dry ice, relabelling and cross-stocking within the free trade zone.”

Niels van Namen, executive vice president of global healthcare at CEVA Logistics, added: “Our ForPatients commitment is driving our investment in healthcare logistics. These airfreight cold chain stations are just one more example of how we put the patient first, even in the supply chain. We have the expertise and now another facility to continue supporting customers who require stringent temperature management within their global supply chains to ensure the integrity of their patients’ products.”

CEVA serves more than 500 healthcare and life science companies globally, more than 50 healthcare contract logistics operations worldwide and 20 of the top 30 medical device supply chains.