Successful project sees vaccines delivered by drone

Hard-to-reach locations could see temperature-controlled medicines and vaccines being delivered by drones thanks to a project led by humanitarian aid organisation Direct Relief.

Working with Merck, Softbox, AT&T and Volans-I, Direct Relief has now completed the fourth in a series of proof-of-concept missions designed to test the potential of using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or drones, to deliver temperature-controlled medicines and vaccines.

The success of the pilot means that drones could be feasibly used within the biopharmaceutical supply chain as well as for humanitarian efforts around the world. The fourth successful mission was conducted in the Bahamas, with previous test flights taking place in Switzerland and Puerto Rico.  

The potential of the technology being used in real-world settings however depends on a range of factors such as constantly evolving regulatory challenges.

Speaking about the project, Direct Relief’s Andrew Schroeder said: “Experience and research consistently show that those most at risk of health crisis in disasters live in communities which are likely to be cut off from essential health care due to disruption of transportation and communications. Drone delivery is one of the most promising answers to this problem. More remains to be done to operationalise medical cargo drones in emergencies. But successful tests like this one demonstrate that remarkable new humanitarian capabilities are emerging quickly.”

During the test, a drone flew over open water between the islands of the Bahamas, out of the operator’s line of sight. The pilot test was conducted with cold-chain delivery technology designed to keep medicines and vaccines at safe temperatures during transport. The project also continuously tracked the temperature of the medicine during the duration of the flight in the hope of ensuring safe and effective delivery.

Initiated by Merck, the groups will now advance the pilot programme and test the technology in Africa and Latin America.

“This successful pilot demonstrates the potential of innovative UAV technology to aid in delivery of temperature-dependent medicines and vaccines to people who critically need them,” said Craig Kennedy, senior vice president, Supply Chain, at Merck