Medical-Grade Cold Storage From Helmer Scientific for Retail and Specialty Pharmacies

Optimized temperature performance safely stores pharmaceuticals and vaccines.

Company Background

Helmer Scientific is a U.S.-based manufacturer and worldwide distributor of medical-grade cold storage and laboratory processing equipment. We have over 45 years of experience providing high-quality temperaturecontrolled environments, with our products used in over 125 countries. Precise temperature performance and control is essential to the successful storage of pharmaceuticals, and Helmer cold storage products have been designed and developed with these principles.

Product Overview

During the pandemic, more that 40 percent of COVID-19 vaccines were administered at retail pharmacies. Post-pandemic, retail pharmacies are expected to continue administering COVID-19 and other vaccines. Ensuring appropriate capacity and quality of vaccine storage is more important than ever.

Failure to maintain the cold chain can result in the loss of potency of vaccines. That is why it is critical to use effective cold storage units to help ensure every vaccine dose counts. When choosing equipment to store and safeguard vaccine inventories providers need to consider existing CDC recommendations for safe vaccine storage, which include using purpose-built or pharmacy-grade units with forced-air circulation, microprocessor-based controls, and alarms. Additional industry standards, including the NSF/ANSI 456 Vaccine Storage Standard, provide further guidance on acceptable cold storage and are designed to confirm temperature performance under various door open and vaccine load scenarios anticipated in provider environments.

Helmer Scientific vaccine storage solutions are designed to meet current CDC guidelines and are certified to NSF/ANSI 456 helping reduce the risk of damaging vaccines due to temperature excursions. Vaccine refrigerators and freezers from Helmer support the expanded role of the retail pharmacy with a reliable, high-quality cold storage solution.

GX Solutions Pharmacy Refrigerators and Freezers are specifically designed to provide safe and effective storage in three ways:

1. GX Solutions eliminate costly temperature excursions with superior temperature uniformity, recovery, and stability. Temperature is maintained within +/-1° C throughout the unit, temperature recovers quickly after prolonged door openings, and create fewer deviations from the set point avoiding rapid, significant changes in temperature which could put vaccines at risk for temperature excursions.

2. GX Solutions are powered by OptiCool™ technology. The OptiCool™ cooling system pairs a variable capacity compressor (VCC) and natural refrigerants to:

          • Ensure optimal temperature uniformity, recovery, and stability.

          • Efficiently manage energy consumption (50-65% reduction over traditional medical-grade units).

          • Reduce noise output from the system (up to three times quieter than traditional medical-grade units).

          • Support sustainability initiatives by decreasing the carbon footprint and having no impact on ozone depletion.

3. GX Solutions are designed to support CDC guidelines and the NSF/ANSI 456 Standard for temperature performance.

Features & Options

• Professional, Medical-Grade Performance

          • Best-in-class temperature management, including uniformity, recovery, and stability, to safeguard medications and vaccines

            and supply confidence that contents are stored at the precise temperature regardless of where they are placed within the unit.

          • Avoids rapid, significant changes in temperature to ensure that medications and vaccines are always in an optimal storage

            environment.

          • Designed for noise-sensitive areas such as retail and specialty pharmacies, GX Professional Medical-Grade Refrigerators

            are up to three times quieter than traditional models leading to fewer distractions for healthcare personnel.

          • Energy management reduces operating costs and supports sustainability initiatives by utilizing a variable capacity compressor

            (VCC) system and natural refrigerants to create a highly efficient cooling system.

• Continuous Monitoring Offers Safety and Security of Stored Product

The i.C3® Information Center provides constant temperature monitoring and multiple information logs, plus security features to keep crucial refrigerator settings protected. Data can be exported for regulatory compliance.