IDT Biologika announced today that its new state-of-the-art packaging line for sterile liquid dosage forms went online at the end of January 2009. The new facility was built in response to increased demand for the company’s fully-integrated services that range from formulation development and clinical manufacturing through large-scale commercial production, packaging, quality control and logistics. The highly automated facility, which can package up to 30 million syringes per year, offers IDT Biologika’s customers a more efficient option for injectable packaging with fewer manual steps and better quality control. The packaging line represents a €3.5 million investment and took 14 months to complete. All testing and regulatory compliance was completed prior to the line’s January start-up.
According to Dr Ralf Pfirmann, CEO of IDT Biologika, the start-up of the new packaging line offers the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies a higher level of quality control in the filling and packaging of injectables and on medium to very large sized projects. He said: “The start-up of this new state-of-the-art packaging line represents an important step for IDT Biologika because it brings the same level of efficiency and technology to our packaging operation that we already have in our filling lines for high-value drugs. This investment continues our focus on sterile liquid dosage forms and is in line with our goal of providing a world-class filling and packaging complement to our formulation and clinical manufacturing services.” IDT Biologika has invested more than €200 million in its facilities in Dessau-Roßlau, Germany in the last 15 years, with additional investments planned for 2009. The company was a 2008 winner of the prestigious Facility of the Year Award (FOYA) for operational excellence.
Specialty in syringe production
IDT Biologika operates one of Europe’s premiere integrated pharmaceutical and biological development and manufacturing facilities for sterile liquid dosage forms, with the expertise and quality controls to supply world markets. A key area of activity for IDT Biologika is the aseptic filling of syringes, which have the potential to reduce product loss and deliver savings in packaging materials. The demand for injectables has been increasing recently, as pharmaceutical companies look to increase the effectiveness and safety of their products. IDT Biologika has leading-edge experience in technically sophisticated projects, such as biopharmaceuticals, lyophilized compounds, narcotics and biosimilars, with EMEA- and FDA-inspected facilities, most of which have been built within the last five years.
According to Dr Pfirmann, the expansion of facilities allows the company to continue its growth in services provided to very technically sophisticated projects for the bio and pharma industries. He said: “Our total focus on sterile liquid dosage forms means we have the systems and the expert personnel in a broad range of disciplines required for high-value drugs. We have the ability to take on highly complex projects and to deliver complete solutions for our customers with the highest level of quality control.”