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Cardinal Health starts Zipline drone deliveries of drugs and medical supplies

By Jim Hammerand | June 28, 2022

A Zipline fixed-wing drone in the air drops a package

Zipline’s fixed-wing drones are delivering medical supplies in North Carolina. [Image courtesy of Zipline]

Cardinal Health (NYSE: CAH) today started air delivery of pharmaceutical products and medical supplies via Zipline drone in North Carolina.

San Francisco-based Zipline won FAA Part 135 air carrier certification for the long-range flights earlier this month. The company flew its first commercial deliveries on June 22 with an initial 16-nautical-mile flight.

The flights starting today are out of Zipline’s hub in Kannapolis, North Carolina, on behalf of Cardinal Health as well as Novant Health and Magellan Rx Management.

Zipline said the hub can serve customers within a 7,800-square-mile area in as little as 15 minutes, with 98 percent lower emissions than traditional delivery options.

Get the full story at our sister site, Medical Design & Outsourcing.

About The Author

Jim Hammerand

Jim Hammerand is the managing editor of Medical Design & Outsourcing. He has more than 15 years of professional journalism experience spanning newspapers, magazines, websites and broadcast news. For nearly a decade, he reported and edited business news for American City Business Journals as a reporter and digital editor at the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal and then managing editor of the Puget Sound Business Journal in Seattle. He holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Minnesota. He is based near Seattle in Edmonds, Washington, where he and his family live. Connect with him on LinkedIn or by email at jimhammerand@wtwhmedia.com.