Timestrip’s iStrip® label technology has confirmed its continued commercial progress with the announcement of DHL as a customer.

Following a successful trial, DHL Healthcare Logistics has ordered iStrips® to be used as part of its cold chain logistics operations, monitoring temperature changes in goods in transit. Until iStrip®, the cost of temperature indicators has always prohibited individual application and any indicator has normally related to an entire case or pallet of product. Thus, in a situation where normal temperature tolerances are exceeded, the whole shipment can be quarantined and subsequently destroyed. DHL is among leading logistics companies investigating potential solutions to this dilemma and it has been convinced of the benefits of iStrip®.

iStrips® are cost-effective enough to be applied to individual products and the potential benefits are huge. Applying iStrips® to individual medicine doses, for instance, would make apparent any temperature change which renders the product unsafe, not just to pharmacists and medical professionals, but also to the patient at home. Temperature assurance can be provided throughout the supply chain: on land, sea and air, aiding compliance with safety regulations and acting as a valuable anti-counterfeiting device.

Distributors in the UK and North America have also been quick to place orders for iStrip®. Among their end-customers is a leading pharmaceuticals company which is using iStrips® with materials being shipped for clinical trials. There has also been much interest in iStrip® from worldwide distributors looking to incorporate the technology into their established portfolios of cold chain solutions.

In addition, Timestrip has an ongoing collaboration with PATH, the Seattle-based global health campaign, to evaluate the potential of a case-level iStrip® in vaccine distribution in developing countries.

“We are delighted at the progress being made with the iStrip® technology, both on the commercial and the development side,” said Timestrip CEO Reuben Isbitsky. “With big names like DHL already confident of the benefits of iStrip®, we’re looking forward to its continuing development over the coming months.”

The iStrip® is a patent-pending label developed by Timestrip plc, that is capable of recording whether a wide range of temperature-sensitive products, including vaccines, have been accidentally frozen during transport or storage. iStrip® works by recording the presence of very low temperatures with an irreversible colour change, typically from red to colourless. Because it is small and cost-effective enough to be applied to individual products or blister packs, iStrip® offers an extremely accurate record of the temperature level experienced by a single product, reducing the need to destroy entire cases of potentially scarce or high-value products.