82 RXINSIDER | 2026 PHARMACY500 PLATINUM PAGES
DELIVERY
& SHIPPING
• Cold Chain Management & Supplies
• Courier, Delivery, Last-Mile Services
OVERVIEW
Pharmaceutical delivery and shipping rely on strict systems
to ensure medications are transported safely and effectively.
Cold chain management maintains temperature-sensitive
medications at controlled temperatures throughout the supply
chain to preserve potency from the manufacturing facility all
the way to the patient. Retail, specialty, and long-term care
pharmacies utilize courier and last-mile delivery services to
ensure timely and secure transport of medications, including
those requiring special handling or conditions, directly to
patients or care facilities.
KEY TERMS
• Cold chain management aims at controlling the temperature
and environmental conditions of medications throughout
the entire supply chain, from manufacturing and storage
to transportation and distribution. The pharmaceutical
cold chain begins at manufacturing facilities, then involves
distribution settings, and ends at the pharmacy or with the
shipment of the medication to a patient.
• Retail/community pharmacies often deliver medications to a
patient’s home as a service, while long-term care pharmacies
deliver medications to the care facility, such as nursing
homes. Specialty pharmacies ship medications that may
require special handling.
• Multiple courier services, delivery solutions, and technology
vendors have entered the market to support the growing
needs of pharmacy delivery. The “last-mile” delivery typically
involves the delivery of very sensitive or expensive drugs
from the final transportation hub, such as an airport or UPS
terminal, to the end user or hospital.
Source: Future Market Insights
of cold chain volume is
accounted for by the three major
theraputic areas: antidiabetics,
dermatology, and hormones.
61%
of the prescription delivery
service market in 2025
was attributed to
prescription drugs.
47.8%
neighborhoods meet the
USC-NCPA criteria for
pharmacy shortage areas.
12.5%
Source: NCPA 2025 Digest
Source: IQVIA