Importance of Temperature Control for Pharmaceutical Products
It is important that stock in a warehouse is stored within a specific temperature range to avoid there being a decline in product quality & effectiveness. This is especially true of pharmaceutical goods with an increase in temperature having the potential to reduce their potency, therefore making the product not reliable and placing end users at risk.
MHRA Regulations
In the UK, warehouses containing pharmaceutical goods must comply with MHRA regulations (Medicines & Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency). These regulations call for medicines to be stored & transported at suitable conditions. This includes monitoring & controlling the temperature of a warehouse containing pharmaceutical goods.
European Good Distribution Practice Guidelines
The European Good Distribution Practice Guidelines were introduced in 2013 & concern the quality assurance of medicines in the European Economic Area (EEA). The Good Distribution Practice Guidelines ensure that the standards adhered to in the Good Manufacturing Practice Guidelines are maintained throughout the distribution network. The guidelines state that medicine should be distributed without any alterations made to their properties & this can be achieved through observing & maintaining storage conditions at all times.
Procedures should be put in place to monitor the temperature and humidity of warehouses containing pharmaceutical products. Monitoring equipment such as alarms should be installed to provide alerts when there is a fluctuation in the conditions of the environment, therefore preventing issues before they arise.
World Health Organization
Guidelines for storing pharmaceutical goods have also been put in place by the World Health Organization (WHO). The organization states that if specific instructions are on the labels of pharmaceutical goods such as temperature & humidity then these should be followed. The World Health Organization suggest that these goods should be kept in dry, well ventilated conditions & at a temperature range of 15-25°C.
Vaccines require even cooler conditions in order to retain their chemical stability. WHO suggest that vaccines should be kept at a temperature which reflects what the manufacturer recommends. This is most typically between 2-8°C.
Cooling Equipment
To maintain the cool conditions required for pharmaceutical products Cross Rental Services have a wide range of air conditioning units available for hire this summer.
- Our Coolspace range of evaporative coolers are suitable for reducing the temperature of well ventilated spaces such as warehouses.
- Cooling fans are also capable of cooling pharmaceutical warehouses due to their large fans moving air quickly & quietly
- The Monobloc MCM350 is suitable for warehouse cooling applications with the unit able to duct heat 10m away from the area being cooled.