Kuehne+Nagel (K+N) has transported Covid-19 vaccines, manufactured by Chinese pharma firm Sinovac Biotech, from Beijing, China to the Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
The forwarding giant monitored the shipment — containing 768,000 vials of the vaccine — as it moved across its pharma network, to ensure that it was “compliant with the most stringent standards to guarantee product integrity.
Prior to this shipment, K+N also operated an air charter service from Beijing to Turkey for a door-to-door delivery of nearly a quarter-million Sinovac Biotech flu vaccines.
Additionally, it helped to transport a shipment of Hepatitis A vaccine to Guatemala, as well as making nucleic acid detection kits available to people in Indonesia.
Siewloong Wong, president of K+N Asia Pacific, commented: “We couldn’t be prouder to having started shipments of Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine. At K+N, we leverage our global pharma and healthcare network and expertise to bring the Sinovac vaccine to the market. We truly appreciate the trust that Sinovac has bestowed upon us.”
Helen Yang, general manager of Sinovac Biotech, Hong Kong, added: “The Dominican Republic is 14,000 km away from our factory in Beijing. During the ongoing pandemic, there have been very few carriers connecting to this remote destination.
“However, K+N responded to us with a feasible solution in just a short span of twelve hours.
“Even during the Chinese New Year holidays, the K+N team was diligently preparing this shipment. We look forward to a collaborative partnership with Kuehne+Nagel.”
Earlier this week, K+N entered into a strategic partnership with China’s largest non-state-owned pharma distribution company, Jointown.
Through the partnership, K+N will have access to Jointown’s GxP-compliant pharma network and storage facilities, enabling compliance with China’s “highly-regulated” pharma and healthcare sector.
K+N has also entered into a binding agreement to acquire Apex International Corporation as it looks to expand its presence in Asia.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Reuters quotes people familiar with the matter as stating that the transaction is valued at around $1.5bn-$2bn.
The deal is the largest acquisition in K+N’s history and will make the company the largest forwarder in the airfreight market (see chart below), surpassing current market leader DHL Global Forwarding (GF).
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