Kuehne+Nagel and Moderna announced that they have agreed on an international supply chain arrangement to provide distribution and storage for the company's Covid-19 vaccine.

This announcement follows the granting of conditional marketing authorisation by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for Covid-19 Vaccine Moderna.

In a statement, Kuehne+Nagel said it will support the worldwide distribution of vaccine doses from Moderna’s international supply chain, based in Europe. This includes distribution to markets in Europe, Asia, Middle East and Africa, and parts of the Americas.

"We are proud to be partnering with Kuehne+Nagel from Europe to support the distribution of vaccines to global citizens. Following the recent approvals, this is another step closer to resolving the pandemic and an exciting time for both our companies and everyone involved," says Dan Staner, vice president head of EMEA region.

The arrangement includes distribution and warehousing of the vaccine from Kuehne+Nagel’s pharma hub in Europe. Kuehne+Nagel will use its network of more than 230 operations worldwide to distribute the vaccine via road and air.

In Europe alone, the company operates its own fleet of over 200 dedicated pharmaceutical transport vehicles. At all stages of transport and storage, product integrity at the required temperature of -20°C will be maintained.

Robert Coyle, senior vice president, Pharma & Healthcare, Kuehne + Nagel International AG, said the company is ready to handle and transmit the highly-sensitive vaccine having invested in its pharma and healthcare network for decades.

Kuehne+Nagel’s clinical trial logistics subsidiary, QuickSTAT, has been an integral part of Moderna's vaccine supply chain as well, having supported Phase II and Phase III clinical trial supply logistics in the U.S.

Kuehne+Nagel has also signed partnerships with authorities in several countries for local storage and last-mile distribution, such in Germany’s most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia.