The ultra-low freezers will help in fulfilling cold temperature requirements during vaccine production, shipping, and distribution.

India. The sudden outbreak of COVID-19 resulted in the rise of research studies to develop vaccines for immunization from the virus. After months of research & development and multiple failed attempts, many companies came up with their vaccines, claiming to be effective against the virus. However, the breakthrough discovery of COVID-19 vaccine solves only half the problem because supplying these vaccines requires a feat of logistical precision known as “cold chain”. Every vaccine requires to be stored within a specific temperature range otherwise its potency can be compromised.

Exposure to warmer conditions while transit from production facilities to storage sites and then last mile distribution requires the use of biomedical refrigerators and freezers to maintain quality of the biological product. Increased support from the government for clinical trials and immunization programs are also creating an unprecedented demand for biomedical freezers for vaccine storages. Seeing the immense potential of growth, many vaccine storage manufacturers are exhausting their resources at rapid pace to keep up with the demand. According to some key players in the biomedical refrigerators and freezers market such as Thermo Fisher Scientific and Stirling Ultracold, the demand for ultra-cold freezer have increased to a point where manufacturing strategies have shifted focus to producing more units to stock out/back-order situations.

Most of the refrigeration units installed at hospitals only cool down to -8°C (17°F) so if the healthcare organization intends to purchase the vaccine, they must make an additional investment for ultra-low temperature freezers, which can range from USD5,000 to USD15,000 per unit. However, the healthcare organizations are facing direct competition with non-healthcare organizations for purchasing the freezers to cope with the COVID situation. Recently, Ford Motor announced that they have ordered a dozen of ultra-low freezers to ensure the safety of employees, providing easy accessibility to corresponding medical supplies when the vaccines become generally available.

Ultra-freezers also seem more reliable and simpler than dry ice, which needs additional maintenance and care. Direct contact with dry ice without protection can lead to burns, and the complicated packaging additive has its own set of risks. Dry ice is a hazardous material, which comes with regulation when shipped by air or water. As dry ice is inexpensive way of storing vaccines, some rural areas are already facing its shortage, which has also propelled the demand for biomedical refrigerators and freezers for storage, supply, and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.

According to a Thomas Index Report, sourcing for ultra-low temperature freezers reached up to 522% in Dec 2020. The increase has been observed after the announcement of COVID-19 vaccines by pharmaceutical companies. When the vaccines will start to be administered in full swing, the growth of biomedical refrigerators and freezers is expected to increase significantly in the coming years.

TechSci research said, “With increased focus on R&D in healthcare and growing need for vaccine storage and distribution owing to curb COVID-19 scenario, the demand for Biomedical refrigerators and freezers has skyrocketed in the past few months. Currently, North America is dominating the Global biomedical refrigerators and freezers market by virtue of rising number of biobanks and genome engineering. With rising competition and advancements in technology, manufacturers are introducing new innovations in their products, which is likely to increase the customer satisfaction on a global level.”

According to TechSci research report on, “Global Biomedical Refrigerators and Freezers Market, By Product (Pass-Through, Explosion Safe, Flammable storage, Combo/Dual Temperature, Ultra Low freezers, Plasma freezers, Others), By Storage (Blood, Vaccines, Plasma, DNA, Flammable chemicals, Others), By Temperature (RNA & DNA (-70°C to -80°C), Vaccines (-30°C to -40 °C), Others), By Capacity (138L, 169L, 221L, 230L, 426L, 690L, Others), By End-user (Hospitals, Pharmacies, Diagnostic Centers, Research Laboratories, Blood Banks), By Region, Forecast & Opportunities, 2025”, the global market for biomedical refrigerators and freezers was valued at USD 2.88 billion in 2019 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 4.72% in value terms during the forecast period. Biomedical refrigerators and freezers have the capabilities to store the biological samples like blood and urine at the desired low temperatures for diagnosis and testing purposes. Rise in number of blood banks all over the world calls for biomedical refrigerators and freezers to provide high quality samples to the patients. Additionally, biomedical refrigerators and freezers are environmentally friendly as they release less GHG in the atmosphere, which is anticipated to positively impact the growth of the market until 2025. However, the high installation cost is a major restraining factor of this market.