SCHOTT expands US manufacturing with investment in new generation pharma vials

Published: 2-Oct-2017

SCHOTT has expanded its investment in the latest generation of pharmaceutical vials, offering more packaging options for pharmaceutical companies in the US

SCHOTT Vials Delamination Controlled (DC), significantly reduces the risk of glass delamination.

Christopher Cassidy, VP Sales & Marketing, North America at SCHOTT Pharmaceutical Packaging, said: “The rise in biotech drug formulations has triggered an increasing demand for primary packaging with superior surfaces and high cosmetic quality.”

To cater for this need, the international technology group will be expanding its SCHOTT Vials DC manufacturing capability in the beginning of the first quarter of 2018 in order to also supply customers from its Lebanon, PA facility.

For the past few years, delamination has led to recalls of numerous injectable drugs. SCHOTT developed an optimised and validated hot forming technology to prevent delamination.

The hot forming technology creates a chemically homogeneous inner surface for the vial, improving its chemical stability. Each vial batch undergoes a clear control strategy based on SCHOTT’s patented Quicktest, which uses a predefined quantitative limit value to verify that the delamination risk has been reduced and is under control. 

Optimised manufacturing is key to preventing chips and cracks in the glass surface and improving overall cosmetic quality. This not only facilitates automated machine inspection during filling operations, it also makes the vials less susceptible to breakage.

Cassidy said: “Glass has a remarkably high internal strength. Its weak points are small cracks on the surface or edges. Micro-defects caused during production or handling spread inward as mechanical stress increases. This can lead to fractures. As a matter of fact, an intact surface will already make a glass vial twice as resistant to breakage without any additional treatment.”

SCHOTT creates safer vials by optimising the manufacturing process and introducing laboratory test procedures based on more than 130 years of experience in glass development and more than 80 years of experience in pharmaceutical packaging production.

“Having a reliable packaging partner that can support global sourcing strategies is becoming increasingly important for pharma manufacturers. The latest expansion of SCHOTT Vials DC underscores our commitment to US production by addressing a real problem in the industry,” Cassidy said.

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