News / Puerto Rico set to achieve life science export potential

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Air trade demand from Puerto Rico (PR) to mainland US reflects its growing life science exports, but investment and training are needed for the island territory to reach its full potential.  

The Puerto Rico Life Sciences Air Cargo Community (PRLSACC) predicted that PR would see 24% year-on-year growth in life science exports by 2027.   

“These findings are a true indication of the potential for growth throughout our pharma operations,” said Jonas van Stekelenburg, advisor for the Departamento de Desarrollo Económico y Comercio. 

Puerto Rico is the largest bioscience manufacturing hub in the wider US, by export volume, and 12 of the world’s 20 top-grossing pharmaceutical companies operate on the island, including Johnson & Johnson and AbbVie.  

Furthermore, 12 of the top 20 medical device manufacturers, with products such as pacemakers, implantable defibrillators, surgical instruments, lab devices, dental equipment and vision correction, have sites on the island. 

As a result, the region is poised to become a central hub to serve the ever-growing US healthcare demands, which Mr van Stekelenburg described as a golden opportunity.  

He told The Loadstar on the sidelines of IATA’S WCS this month: “There is never a downturn in Puerto Rico, because no matter what happens in the world, there will always be illness, with healthcare needed.” 

However, due to the temperature-critical nature of pharma shipments, cool chain operations and facilities in Puerto Rico need to be optimised for the sector to truly take off.  

The PRLSACC’s temperature-controlled exports are predicted to increase by 30% annually for the next three years, which Mr van Stekelenburg said, would need “the best quality air freight you can have”.

He told The Loadstar the PRLSACC was trying to improve quality by pushing for investment into cool chain infrastructure at the island’s airports, Luis Muñoz Marín, near San Juan (SJU), and Rafael Hernández, in Aguadilla (BQN).

Whilst SJU is the larger airport, and boasts 49 connections from 25 airlines, BQN only serves direct routes to four countries with three airlines. The PRLSACC is therefore calling for more direct routes for BQN, which it says is potentially a key pillar in capitalising on the mass supply of pharma from PR.  

The community’s board includes community members, the DEDC, Invest Puerto Rico, the Industry University Research Center, Aerostar Airport Holdings and Port Authority of Puerto Rico.