Cipla to deliver essential medicines through drones in Himachal Pradesh
Respiratory therapy leader Cipla on Tuesday announced the launch of drone-powered deliveries for its critical medicines – cardiac, respiratory, and other essential chronic therapies – for hospitals and pharmacies in the hilly state of Himachal Pradesh. Cipla is the first among the large Indian pharmaceutical companies to adopt drone-based deliveries to facilitate expedited supply to stockists in remote areas, it claimed.
For this, the company has tied up with Skye Air Mobility.
Cipla said that the use of drones will support on-time delivery of the company’s medicines to chemists and clinics in remote areas, as well as minimise risks of affecting cold chain products due to temperature excursions.
The company has already completed several drone deliveries in Himachal Pradesh, covering approximately 50 km distance in less than 25 minutes. “This has been vital amidst adverse and prevailing weather conditions that have impacted conventional transportation routes in the state,” it said in a statement.
Cipla’s Global Supply Chain Head, Swapn Malpani, said, “As we accelerate our digital agenda across all functions, implementing drone-powered distribution enhances our supply chain resilience, strengthens connections with channel partners, helps us stay future-ready and maintain reliable, prompt delivery of our trusted high-quality drugs to stockists and patients in the region.”
Cipla aims to scale the service in the future through distribution to hospitals and expand market coverage to inaccessible and hilly terrains such as Uttarakhand and Northeast in India.
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) had released guidelines for drone delivery of pharmaceutical products last year. ICMR had conducted a pilot to deliver Covid-19 vaccines in the north-eastern states of Manipur and Nagaland through drones in October 2021.
Diagnostic players and tech startups have been trying to use drone technology to deliver medicines and samples to remote areas.
Digital healthcare firm Tata 1mg had started drone delivery of diagnostic samples and medication in Dehradun around the end of 2022. SRL Diagnostics (now Agilus Diagnostics) had also tied up with Skye Air Mobility around April last year to focus on drone delivery for collecting samples and transporting them to labs in Gurugram and Mumbai.
Tech startups like TechEagle have partnered with state governments like Himachal Pradesh to deliver medicines and vaccines in hard-to-access areas, especially during winter. Last year, it tried the delivery of medicines from primary health centres (PHCs) to sub-centres in Kullu district via drones in Himachal Pradesh.
While the trend is likely to pick up, an industry insider pointed out that chances of errors cannot be ignored. “Recently, a drone had dropped blood samples collected from patients on the metro tracks in Delhi. Such accidents cannot be ruled out. But, even road accidents happen. Overall, use of tech would help to reach remote hilly areas faster with essential medicines and vaccines,” the person added.