Godrej launches ultra-low temperature freezers

With the world’s biggest vaccination drive gathering steam to combat the Covid-19 pandemic, the Godrej Appliances added state-of-the-art ultra-low temperature freezers to its portfolio, strengthening the vaccine cold chain further.

These advanced medical freezers can preserve life-saving medical supplies including critical vaccines below -80°C and are aimed at boosting both Indian and global medical cold chains.

Godrej Appliances, a business unit of Godrej & Boyce, the flagship company of Godrej Group, made the announcement in Mumbai, on Tuesday, about the addition of the new range of refrigerators.

Godrej Appliances is currently deploying vaccine refrigerators that maintain a precise temperature of 2 to 8°C to store the highly temperature-sensitive Covishield and Covaxin vaccines being administered in India as part of the national tender it received in October 2020.

Medical freezers which maintain -20°C are also being deployed for diluents and ice packs needed for the last mile delivery in the Covid vaccination drive. The vaccines run the risk of damage if they are subjected to fluctuations beyond the specified temperature band, leading to both health and economic implications.

The ultra-low temperature freezers are a new addition to this portfolio and are particularly suited to mRNA based vaccines which are being deployed in other countries currently. The mRNA-based Covid 19 vaccines are extremely temperature-sensitive as well and must be stored at very cold temperatures. mRNA is constantly at risk of being destroyed by other molecules in the environment. Although manufacturers of the vaccines have made chemical changes to the synthetic mRNA and wrapped it in a protective layer, they need to be stored at temperatures as low as below -80°C, to prevent wastage of vaccines, which has a direct implication on human health. Hence, any wastage or inefficiency in the vaccination process due to logistical issues related to cold chains must be avoided.

At the launch, Jamshyd Godrej, Chairman and Managing Director, Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing Company Ltd said, “Depth of coverage and sustenance of Covid-19 vaccination drive will be key to ward off further spread of the pandemic. Today, nations across the globe are facing challenges in running effective Covid-19 vaccination programmes. Inadequate cold chain equipment is one of the key challenges, which can lead to the inefficacy of the vaccines and cost human health. Our latest offering of ultra low-temperature freezers will help make India more ready for vaccines of the future as well. This endeavour also brings alive our ethos of 'Made in India' for the world.”

The current capacity for ultra low-temperature freezers is 12,000 units per annum, which Godrej Appliances is working towards quickly ramping up to 30,000 units per annum, to meet the growing global demand.