How does blockchain Technology help to make pharmaceutical cold chain reliable?


Abstract views: 6 / PDF downloads: 2

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31039/plic.2025.15.361

Keywords:

blockchain, cold chain, pharma supply chain

Abstract

Despite the growing trend of cold chain adoption in the pharmaceutical industry, its capacity to ensure reliability, transparency, and trust throughout the chain system remains a challenging issue. Blockchain, in this regard, offers an effective solution to the issue, as it provides immutable records and enhanced security. This study, thus, investigates blockchain’s potential to improve cold chain adoption in the pharmaceutical industry by examining public perceptions and professional insights. It employed the exploratory qualitative approach, which combined a literature review, a public survey of 113 respondents, and in-depth interviews with executives of the blockchain-enabled cold chain companies. Survey results present that public trust in vaccine and medicine distribution could be achieved through the provision of transparency, regulatory insight, product quality, monitoring systems, and technological solutions, which are offered by blockchain technology. Expert interviews, meanwhile, reveal that blockchain supports real-time tracking, quality assurance, compliance, and automation. These data collection processes revealed that integration with existing systems and regulatory compliance remained pressing concerns in the adoption of blockchain in the pharmaceutical industry. These findings outline that blockchain has the potential to enhance reliability, transparency, and trust in the pharmaceutical cold chain adoption, thus highlighting its suitability for education, policy support, and further research.

References

Bali, V., Khanna, T., Soni, P., Gupta, S., Chauhan, S., & Gupta, S. (2022). Combating drug counterfeiting by tracing ownership transfer using blockchain technology. International Journal of E-Health and Medical Communications, 13(1), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.4018/IJEHMC.309429

Bamakan, S. M. H., Ghasemzadeh Moghaddam, S., & Dehghan Manshadi, S. (2021). Blockchain-enabled pharmaceutical cold chain: Applications, key challenges, and future trends. Journal of Cleaner Production, 302, Article 127021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.127021

Bapatla, A., Mohanty, S., Kougianos, E., & Puthal, D. (2022). PharmaChain 2.0: A blockchain framework for secure remote monitoring of drug environmental parameters in pharmaceutical cold supply chain. In 2022 IEEE International Smart Electronics and Systems Conference (iSES) (pp. 185–190). IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/iSES54909.2022.00046

Barati, S. H. (2025). A system dynamics approach for leveraging blockchain technology to enhance demand forecasting in supply chain management. Supply Chain Analytics, 10, 100115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sca.2025.100115

Bilal, A. I., Bititci, U. S., & Fenta, T. G. (2024). Challenges and the way forward in demand forecasting practices within the Ethiopian public pharmaceutical supply chain. Pharmacy (Basel), 12(3), 86. https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmacy12030086

Chang, A., El-Rayes, N., & Shi, J. (2022). Blockchain technology for supply chain management: A comprehensive review. FinTech, 1(2), 191–205. https://doi.org/10.3390/fintech1020015

Ferraz, K., Cato, M., Fox, E., Rawlins, M., & Misko, J. (2025). Temperature excursions in cold chain management—Assessing the accuracy of refrigerator temperature probes. Hospital Pharmacy, 60(1), 66–69. https://doi.org/10.1177/00185787241282245

Gorani, M. (2024). Optimizing pharmaceutical supply chain: Key challenges and strategic solutions. World Journal of Clinical Medicine Research, 4(1), 35–41. https://doi.org/10.31586/wjcmr.2024.1118

Hübschke, M., Buss, E., & Holschbach, E. (2025). Blockchain in supply chain management: A comprehensive review of success measurement methods. Management Review Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11301-025-00546-0

Immidi, K. (2024). Blockchain revolution in supply chain: A global study of 150+ implementations across 25 countries: A comprehensive analysis and implementation framework. International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology (IJERT), 13(12). https://blockchain-revolution-in-supply-chain-a-global-study-of-150-implementations-across-25-countries-IJERTV13IS120096.pdf

Islam, M. A., Chuity, S. M., Sultan, T., Baul, S., Ahamed, J., & Mobin, M. I. (2025). Blockchain technology is revolutionizing the pharmaceutical industry's drug supply chain management. In Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Computing Advancements (ICCA '24) (pp. 1081–1088). Association for Computing Machinery. https://doi.org/10.1145/3723178.3723321

Kayhan, H. (2022). Ensuring trust in pharmaceutical supply chains by data protection by design approach to blockchains. Blockchain in Healthcare Today, 5. https://doi.org/10.30953/bhty.v5.232

Klein, K., & Stolk, P. (2018). Challenges and opportunities for the traceability of (biological) medicinal products. Drug Safety, 41(10), 911–918. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40264-018-0678-7

Market Growth Reports. (2025, December 8). Pharma track and trace solutions market size, share, growth, and industry analysis, by type (barcodes, RFID), by application (bio pharma, chemical pharma, specialty pharma), regional insights and forecast to 2035. Retrieved from https://www.marketgrowthreports.com/market-reports/pharma-track-and-trace-solutions-market-101291

Narayan, A., Murphy, T., & Marquard, B. (2023, August 31). Looking to make your supply chain more resilient? Measure it. Deloitte Center for Integrated Research. Retrieved from https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/focus/industry-4-0/measuring-supply-chain-resilience.html

Navigating Regulatory Challenges in Global Pharmaceutical Supply Chains. (2025). World Pharma Today. Retrieved December 28, 2025, from https://www.worldpharmatoday.com/news/navigating-regulatory-challenges-in-global-pharmaceutical-supply-chains/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Nolen, N., & Balling, S. (2021, May 11). Parallelhandel von Arzneimitteln und damit verbundene Probleme in der EU: Umgang mit Engpässen, Fälschungsrisiken und Intransparenz (cepInput Nr. 11/2021). Centrum für Europäische Politik. https://www.cep.eu/de/eu-themen/details/parallelhandel-von-arzneimitteln-und-damit-verbundene-probleme-in-der-eu-cepinput.html

Pascu, G. A., Hancu, G., & Rusu, A. (2020). Pharmaceutical serialization, a global effort to combat counterfeit medicines. Acta Marisiensis – Seria Medica, 66(4), 132–139. https://doi.org/10.2478/AMMA-2020-0028

Puthal, D., Malik, N., Mohanty, S. P., Kougianos, E., & Das, G. (2018). Everything you wanted to know about the blockchain: Its promise, components, processes, and problems. IEEE Consumer Electronics Magazine, 7(4), 6–14. https://doi.org/10.1109/MCE.2018.2816299

Sarkar, S. (2023). Blockchain for combating pharmaceutical drug counterfeiting and cold chain distribution. Asian Journal of Research in Computer Science, 16(3), 156–166. https://doi.org/10.9734/AJRCOS/2023/v16i3353

SNS Insider Pvt Ltd. (2025, November 27). Blockchain in supply chain market to hit USD 95.52 billion by 2033, driven by rising demand for transparency and traceability [Market trend report]. Retrieved from https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2025/11/27/3195987/0/en/Blockchain-in-Supply-Chain-Market-to-Hit-USD-95-52-Billion-by-2033-Driven-by-Rising-Demand-for-Transparency-and-Traceability-SNS-Insider.html

U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (2019). Drug shortages: Root causes and potential solutions. Retrieved from https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-shortages/report-drug-shortages-root-causes-and-potential-solutions

Wang, D. (2024). Blockchain technology: A catalyst for transparency in pharmaceutical supply chains. Pharmaceutical Analysis & Acta, 15(2), 777. https://www.walshmedicalmedia.com/open-access/blockchain-technology-a-catalyst-for-transparency-in-pharmaceutical-supply-chains-129992.html

Zhou, Y. (2024). Blockchain technology improves the resilience of manufacturing supply chain: An exploration based on grounded theory. In Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Financial Technology and Business Analysis. https://doi.org/10.54254/2754-1169/2024.18266

Downloads

Published

2026-02-09

How to Cite

Schabasser, C. ., & Ezatullah Pezhand. (2026). How does blockchain Technology help to make pharmaceutical cold chain reliable?. Proceedings of London International Conferences, (15). https://doi.org/10.31039/plic.2025.15.361

Most read articles by the same author(s)