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.
President Donald Trump says a deal struck by Netflix last week to buy Warner Bros. Discovery “could be a problem” because of the size of the combined market share. The Republican president says he will be involved in the decision about whether federal regulators should approve the deal. Trump commented Sunday when he was asked about the deal as he walked the red carpet at the Kennedy Center Honors. The $72 billion deal would bring together two of the biggest players in television and film and potentially reshape the entertainment industry.
Disney's changes to a program for disabled visitors are facing challenges in federal court and through a shareholder proposal. The Disability Access Service program, which allows disabled visitors to skip long lines, was overhauled last year. Disney now mostly limits the program to those with developmental disabilities like autism who have difficulty waiting in lines. The changes have sparked criticism from some disability advocates. A shareholder proposal submitted by disability advocates calls for an independent review of Disney's disability policies. Disney plans to block this proposal, claiming it's misleading. It's the latest struggle by Disney to accommodate disabled visitors while stopping past abuses by some theme park guests.
With a merger this big, creators, studios, and theaters all face uncertain futures. Here’s what experts are worried about and what good could come from it.
With disengagement rising and hybrid work shifting, 'Everybody Matters' author Bob Chapman explains why treating people well could define the future of work.
We sat down with Ali Furman, U.S. Consumer Markets Industry Leader at consulting firm PwC to ask what trends she garnered from the initial data this year.
Seth Schachner breaks down Zootopia 2’s record-smashing debut, holiday box office trends, early 2026 Oscar contenders, and what’s next for Netflix and WBD.
Truist's Mike Skordeles unpacks earnings trends, market correction, labor force dynamics, and what a possible December rate cut could mean for all of us.
