As the hospital is part of pan-India clinical trials for COVID-19 vaccine, the donated equipment will be crucial to store the temperature sensitive COVID-19 vaccine
B Medical Systems, a specialist in vaccine cold chain equipment industry, has partnered with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to donate equipment for the storage of critical COVID-19 vaccines to the BYL Nair Charitable Hospital in Mumbai, India, in support of the COVID-19 fight.
Accepting the donation, Dr Bharmal, Director (M.E. and M.H.) and Dean, BYL Nair Charitable Hospital said, “In August 2020, the hospital was granted permission by the Indian Council for Medical Research to run the pan-India clinical trials for the COVID-19 vaccine. The BYL Nair Charitable Hospital has been playing a major role in the coronavirus battle, and we are happy to see global players coming in to support us in these tremendous efforts. In April 2020, the hospital became Mumbai’s largest dedicated COVID-19 facility and it has succeeded in treating thousands of patients already. A strong cold chain system is vital to the success of the vaccination and by getting the world’s best vaccine cold chain equipment made in Europe, we aim to alleviate the strain related to the storage of the COVID -19 vaccines.”
While explaining the crucial need for this equipment, Jesal Doshi, Deputy CEO, B Medical Systems said, “ We are extremely happy to associate with BYL Nair charitable Hospital and pleased to hand over a patented, high-quality medical refrigerator to support the COVID-19 fight. Our reliable technology will strengthen the vaccine cold chain system and guarantee the safe storage of the COVID-19 vaccines. As the vaccine candidates are temperature-sensitive, their storage requires constant refrigeration. If stored outside their storage temperature range, the vaccines lose their potency and must be discarded to prevent the risk of resulting in potentially ineffective and unsafe vaccines. This is a risk that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation will not take and hence decided to use world leading and best in class technologies to prevent such situation.”
According to a release, for over four decades, Luxembourg-based B Medical Systems has been creating innovative solutions for the storage and transport of vaccines across the world and is a trusted partner of global humanitarian and procurement bodies across the world. All of B Medical’s vaccine cold chain units meet the stringent quality standards of the EU and the World Health Organization’s PQS certification. All vaccine cold chain units are patent protected, and have several unique features including a lifelong warranty against corrosion, which is critical in a city like Mumbai with high humidity all year around. This is possible due to B Medical’s unique manufacturing technology, and all products are manufactured from scratch in its high tech facility in Luxembourg, Europe.