Pharmaceutical giant Merck is teaming up with San Francisco-based drone startup Volansi to improve vaccine delivery in remote areas.
The companies have launched a pilot program in rural North Carolina to test their ability to deliver temperature-controlled vaccines from a central production facility to more far-flung areas.
"Once vaccines are developed and are out there, distribution will be a key challenge," CEO Hannan Parvizian told Cheddar. "We truly believe that autonomous aerial deliveries will enable access to all areas, both in high-infrastructure countries like here in the U.S. and also in other low-infrastructure countries in emerging markets like Africa and other places in the world."
Indeed, temperature-controlled storage is insufficient in many countries to pull off a COVID-19 immunization campaign, making creative solutions such as drones a potential necessity.
At the center of the experiment is the Voly C10, the startup's latest drone model designed to haul "cold-chain" medical supplies and vaccines autonomously across hospital systems.
"It has a 10-pound payload capacity and can cover a 50-mile radius on a single trip," Parvizian said. "That allows us to carry not only a significant amount of payload but also the cargo box that is required to maintain the temperature of the payload throughout the mission."
The pilot study is focused on rural areas for now, with a particular focus on schools and hospitals, but the partnership has its sights on eventually moving into urban markets.
"That's how we will be ramping up, starting out with more rural areas and eventually moving into much more densely populated areas," Parvizian said.
He added that the drones are capable of hauling around 80 percent of all drugs and medical supplies, including blood donations.
"There are probably some specialty items that are heavier or require much more care or not compatible with this type of delivery, but right now we're not seeing any sort of big limitations on the types of payloads we can transport," he said.
Other companies such as Zipline have a similar model, but Parvizian said Volansi differs in that all drones use vertical take-off and landing as opposed to a catapult launcher.
"That means we don't require any sort of ground infrastructure for launch and recovery of our vehicles," he said.
AI is reshaping investigations. Longeye CEO Guillaume Delepine shares how their AI workspace empowers law enforcement to uncover insights faster and smarter.
Stephen Kates, Financial Analyst at Bankrate, joins to discuss the Fed’s 25-basis-point rate cut, inflation risks, and what it all means for consumers and marke
Big tech earnings take center stage as investors digest results from Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, and Apple, with insights from Gil Luria of D.A. Davidson
Disney content has gone dark on YouTube TV, leaving subscribers of the Google-owned live streaming platform without access to major networks like ESPN and ABC. That’s because the companies have failed to reach a new licensing deal to keep Disney channels on YouTube TV. Depending on how long it lasts, the dispute could particularly impact coverage of U.S. college football matchups over the weekend — on top of other news and entertainment disruptions that have already arrived. In the meantime, YouTube TV subscribers who want to watch Disney channels could have little choice other than turning to the company’s own platforms, which come with their own price tags.
President Donald Trump said he has decided to lower his combined tariff rates on imports of Chinese goods to 47% after talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on curbing fentanyl trafficking.
Universal Music Group and AI platform Udio have settled a copyright lawsuit and will collaborate on a new music creation and streaming platform. The companies announced on Wednesday that they reached a compensatory legal settlement and new licensing agreements. These agreements aim to provide more revenue opportunities for Universal's artists and songwriters. The rise of AI song generation tools like Udio has disrupted the music streaming industry, leading to accusations from record labels. This deal marks the first since Universal and others sued Udio and Suno last year. Financial terms of the settlement weren't disclosed.
