Packaging
Group network generating a wealth of synergies for the pharma & life sciences industry: Gerresheimer displays its latest glass and plastic range
Tuesday 30. September 2008 - Packaging and systems profit from know-how and technology transfer in a worldwide corporate group
All the big names in the international pharma & life sciences market will be looking at Frankfurt over the next few days: CPhI Worldwide and ICSE join forces here on 30 September 2008 to open an attractive trade fair in the metropolis on the River Main lasting until 2 October. For the Gerresheimer Group as well this is a big event. As a highly specialised expert in glass and plastic products it provides multi-facetted information about what today is regarded as the worldwide development standard in the field of pharmaceutical primary packaging and technical medical systems (ICSE Hall 4.1, Plan Grid Reference 41L50).
The Group, which has now expanded into forty locations in Europe, America and Asia, serves customers in every continent and enjoys leading market positions in all its business divisions: without doubt the result of valuable synergies which the Gerresheimers competence network carefully develops and exploits. “Our global group has grown together closely, and know-how and technology transfer functions very well,” says Burkhard Lingenberg, Director of Marketing und Communication at the Düsseldorf Group headquarters. “Thus our product portfolio is continuing to grow rapidly at a highly advanced level.” The Group is exhibiting an unusually wide spectrum of pharma packaging and drug delivery systems as well as diagnostic aids, reliable security concepts, innovative product labelling possibilities and specific surface treatments. Here a brief preview:
Syringe systems. The trend towards prefillable all-glass syringes continues apace around the world. Early next year Gerresheimer will therefore start up its third high-tech production line for sterile RTF (Ready to Fill) systems – which now already account for the largest share of the Groups syringe production. As in the case of non-sterile syringes, all the relevant product categories are covered. Innovations this year include laser encoding and heat-transfer printing as the latest processes for effective labelling. The former allows all the data required for unmistakable identification of the packaging to be baked indelibly into one square millimetre of the finger-flange surface. With heat-transfer printing, multi-colour glass-printing technology allows not only product information and calibration but also the brand logo in its original colours to be shown to brilliant effect.
In contrast, an invisible product plus introduced some time ago but today more topical then ever is specific packaging for highly sensitive biotech substances for injections, thanks above all to the special process of baked-on siliconisation which Gerresheimer is now able to present – together with a recently awarded US patent. This time again of course the syringe display is additionally enhanced by a wide range of useful accessories. The most prominent examples here are the Tamper Evident Luerlock Closure (TERNS) and the Rigid Needle Shield (RNS) with thermoplastic elasto¬mer: ingeniously designed protection and closure systems whose benefits are documented in detail by market studies.
Glass packaging. The Groups uniquely wide range of pharmaceutical vials, ampoules, cartridges, bottles and jars is well known: there is unlikely to be any pharma-relevant shape, size or colour which it does not include. In the range of materials on offer, Gerresheimer is also hard to beat: even the high-calibre type-I borosilicate glass tubes as intermediary products are manufactured by the Group an a vertically integrated producer, and in the field of moulded glass as well, glass types I, II and III are available – not necessarily the general rule – covering all the glass categories suitable for pharmaceutics.
Another new highlight of the comprehensive range is the choice of LOD (Large Outside Diameter) vials which are produced to the highest quality on the basis of further developments in precision technology. In addition, the traceable laser encoding and multi-colour printing processes mentioned above are a highly attractive option for all tubular-glass products – even beyond the field of syringe systems.
Plastic packaging. The variety of clever packaging and application approaches has again increased in this sector as well. The product range in different types of plastic and numerous shapes and sizes – with the options multiplied almost to infinity by a variety of security-seal and closure possibilities – caters for both solid and liquid medicines. One example is the latest Duma range of multi-function Twist-Off and HandyCap closures with integrated desiccant capsules, which – as already reported – Gerresheimer is the first manufacturer in this field to produce completely in-house.
The range of PET bottles in particular has achieved a new dimension since the last ICSE, and additional variants are available in other areas as well – from tablet containers to dosage systems. The successful integration of two leading companies in the plastic segment which were acquired at the start of the year is also reflected in the expanded portfolio. Gerresheimer Zaragoza (formerly EDP) in Spain and Argentina and Gerres¬heimer Plásticos São Paulo (formerly Allplas Embalagens) in Brazil have brought a total of five Southern European and South American bases to the Group.
Medical plastic systems. As the leading full-service system specialist, Gerresheimer exhibits highlights from its highly innovative and totally individual project business. This concentrates exclusively on customised systems and components which are developed and realised from start to finish for industrial customers in the field of pharmaceutics, diagnostics and medicial technology. The spectrum ranges from tailor-made special plant engineering and tool construction to complete production in clean-room facilities in ISO class 8 (100.000) and even international logistics.
What in the past was a predominantly European business has become increasingly international, and further production expansion with substantial additional clean-room capacity is currently under way in this sector as well. Requirements in terms of purity and cleanliness for the production of medical plastic systems are increasing steadily. Systems and components for applications in the field of pharmaceutics, diagnostics and medical technology have been produced by Gerresheimer Wilden GmbH since as long ago as 1978. In the future as well, this production technology will play an important role for Gerresheimer Wilden. The company has therefore expanded its clean-room and controlled-area capacity in Pfreimd (Germany) and Horovský Týn (Czech Republic) by more than 5,000 square metres in 2008. A total of more than 20,000 square metres of clean-room and controlled-area capacity is now available in the USA, Europe and Asia.
During the fair, visitors can see reference products from a multi-faceted spectrum with particular highlights ranging from inhalation appliances for treatment of respiratory ailments to the wide field of specific disposables, as well as, for example, fast tests for laboratories, practices and clinics, and lancets and skin-prick aids for diabetic patients. The range also includes insulin PEN systems which, thanks to its combined glass and plastics competence, Gerresheimer can today manufacture completely in house.
For producers of injection materials, particular attention focuses on an interesting innovation by Schreiner MediPharm. This customer specialising in function labels for the pharma industry has joined forces with Gerresheimer Wilden in an example of perfect reciprocal product-portfolio enhancement to launch the Needle Trap, a totally new type of device to provide protection against injuries from used syringe needles.