Schott Pharmaceutical Systems has developed new cartridges for use on high-speed filling lines, which it says will enable quicker processing and reduce overfill losses.
Bernhard Hladik, Schott’s Head of Cartridge Product Management, says several pharmaceutical customers have started using laser light and sensors to control fill levels and so ensure accurate bubble-free dosing and less product loss through overfilling.
The German firm has worked with these customers to translate their process requirements into developing the cartridge, initially for insulin products, with a new neck specification.
The company will pilot the cartridge and new process developments in St Gallen, Switzerland where its competence centre for cartridges is based and from where modifications to manufacturing will be managed globally.
‘The demands are extremely high. After all, up to 600 cartridges per minute are being filled on these high-speed filling lines,’ said Hladik.
Schott also aims to achieve further growth in polymer and glass syringes and has doubled its manufacturing capacity for small size (1 to 10ml) TopPac prefillable polymer syringes by installing a new production line at St Gallen.
These syringes are made from Cyclic Olefin Copolymer (COC), which is compatible with a broad range of drugs. They feature excellent barrier properties, allowing long-term storage of drugs even in small syringe sizes, the firm says. They also have a glass-like transparency, and are break resistant and lightweight.
