This story is from August 10, 2019

Injecting dose of Blockchain, IoT tech for safe delivery of vaccines

Injecting dose of Blockchain, IoT tech for safe delivery of vaccines
Hyderabad: While WHO and Unicef data points out that 20 million children worldwide missed out on lifesaving vaccines such as measles, diphtheria and tetanus in 2018, industry estimates suggest that over 30% of the total vaccines produced go waste, causing loss of precious health as well as wealth.
City-based first-generation entrepreneur Siddharth Chakravarty intends to take a shot at solving this mammoth problem plaguing humanity with the help of Blockchain technology.

His first brush with entrepreneurship came after he joined networking giant Cisco, where he worked in the area of emerging technologies during 2014-16. “I was working in the Bay Area and used to interact with startups, understanding their tech requirements. During this time, I gained an insight into the world of startups,” he says, adding that in 2016 he was back in the city to find a problem that he would be able to solve with the help of technology.
Even as he hunted for a worthy problem, he offered consulting services to the manufacturing sector that helped him gain an insight into supply-chain woes.
“Managing the supply chain is a big problem for any sector and it has been working in the same way for ages. While there have been attempts to digitise it, supply chain remains very fragmented. Too many stakeholders are involved and everyone has their own interests. Therefore, having end-to-end transparency between the stakeholders is difficult.,” he says, adding that he finally zeroed in on using tech to solve supply chain woes of vaccination players.

Prior to the advent of emerging technologies, pharma and food players relied on data loggers, a sensor that would change colour with the fluctuation in temperature but would not alert the relevant stakeholder or provide the exact time or location where the temperature variation took place.
Siddharth says the key reason behind vaccines getting spoilt during supply is frequent temperature fluctuations, wherein a slight variance can impact its efficacy. This has been a big challenge for Unicef and Gavi that distribute over 85% of the global vaccines.
To tackle this challenge, his maiden venture StaTwig started working on a Blockchain solution that provides end-to-end visibility of the vaccine once the consignment leaves the vaccine manufacturing plant and is transported to a health centre.
This solution primarily helps manufacturers not only monitor the supply chain and plug the loop holes but also fight the menace of fake or counterfeit vaccines.
“They are not just able to track their consignment and know when it has been delivered, the solution also helps them predict when their next order will be placed. The forecasting of demand and supply is a very important aspect of their business as it brings in efficiency and leads to cost reduction. Besides, they are assured that a genuine product manufactured by them has reached the end-user,” he explains.
What is encouraging for StaTwig is that there are certain regulations that encourage stakeholders to adopt such tech solutions. For example, the Drug Quality and Security Act, that was enacted in 2013 in the US, outlines steps to build an electronic, interoperable system to identify and trace certain prescription drugs as they are distributed in the US.
The startup has already test-piloted this platform in its early days with fisheries and food firms to see how safely perishables can travel.
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About the Author
Swati Rathor

Swati Rathor is a senior correspondent with The Times of India at Hyderabad. She has over two years of experience covering a range of corporates and sectors. While not at work, she loves to travel, read and cook.

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