{"id":17569,"date":"2026-08-18T12:32:30","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T12:32:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.logisticindustrialbuildmadrid.com\/?p=17569"},"modified":"2026-08-19T11:23:05","modified_gmt":"2026-08-19T11:23:05","slug":"the-cold-millionaires-the-most-unexpected-side-effect-of-the-new-weight-loss-drugs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.logisticindustrialbuildmadrid.com\/en\/2026\/08\/18\/the-cold-millionaires-the-most-unexpected-side-effect-of-the-new-weight-loss-drugs\/","title":{"rendered":"The \u2018cold millionaires\u2019: the most unexpected side effect of the new weight-loss drugs"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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The \u2018cold millionaires\u2019: the most unexpected side effect of the new weight-loss drugs<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The pharmaceutical cold chain has evolved from a niche sector to become a strategic component of the industry. Major operators are investing billions in an infrastructure that is increasingly<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Ever since Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro became the talk of the town, there has been a great deal of emphasis on how they have transformed the healthcare sector, how they have improved the quality of life for hundreds of thousands of people in Spain, and how they have revolutionised the treatment of diseases that, until now, were very difficult to combat. But there is one crucial aspect that is often overlooked: their transport.<\/p>\n

Before reaching a pharmacy, many of these medicines must travel thousands of kilometres whilst remaining within specific temperature conditions. It is not enough simply to move them from one place to another: they must be stored, packaged, monitored and transported without any incident at an airport, a customs post or a change of vehicle jeopardising a product that may be worth thousands of euros and on which, moreover, a patient\u2019s well-being depends. To put this into context, according to the European Medicines Agency, the widely publicised Ozempic must be kept, at all times, between 2 and 8 \u00baC and must never be frozen.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The spectacular growth in new treatments for diabetes and obesity has thus put pressure on an industry far less well-known than the pharmaceutical sector: temperature-controlled logistics<\/strong>. And the phenomenon extends far beyond GLP-1s. Biologics, vaccines, cancer therapies, personalised medicine and cell and gene therapies are transforming the traditional cold chain into an increasingly strategic infrastructure.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The figures give an idea of the scale of the transformation. An IQVIA analysis of medicines requiring refrigeration or freezing estimated that 37 per cent of new drugs<\/strong> launched between 2013 and 2017 required a cold chain. By 2018\u20132022, this figure had risen to 45 per cent, and for launches in the 2023\u20132027 period, the proportion is around half. In just a few years, what was once the exception is set to become the norm.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Demand for temperature-controlled pharmaceutical logistics services is growing steadily<\/h5>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\u2018Over the last decade, cold-chain logistics has evolved from serving a relatively specialised segment of the industry to becoming a fundamental part of healthcare supply chains<\/strong>,\u2019 John Bolla, president of UPS Healthcare, explains to El Confidencial. He cites as the driving forces behind this \u2018the growth in biologics, specialised medicines, vaccines and the latest treatments, including GLP-1 therapies\u2019.<\/p>\n

Pablo Bengoa, head of the Life Sciences and Healthcare business unit at DHL Supply Chain for Spain and Portugal, agrees with this assessment: \u201cThe demand for temperature-controlled pharmaceutical logistics services is growing steadily\u201d and, he asserts, \u201creflects a long-term structural trend rather than a temporary increase\u201d. Biological products and other specialised medicines are becoming increasingly important within the pharmaceutical market and, due to their very nature, are also much more demanding when it comes to transporting them from one country to another.<\/p>\n

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