The deal, which is worth €15m ($21.3m), will see seven Lyovac freeze drying systems and two automatic loading units (ALUS) installed at two Hisun facilities in Fuyang and Taizhou in Zhejiang province.
Also under the contract, GEA will supervise the move in, installation, start up, site acceptance testing (SAT) and IQ/OQ execution of the units. Delivery is scheduled for the second half of 2010.
Heinrich Meintrup, managing director of GEA Lyophil, told in-Pharmatechnologist that the technology will be used in the manufacture of Hisun’s range of oncology drugs and set out some of the likely benefits for the Chinese firm.
“Hisun will gain high performance production lines delivered out of one hand fulfilling all FDA regulations,” adding that the lines “guarantee high throughout and reliably for efficient production of pharmaceuticals for the international market.”
Vibrant Asian market
Meintrup explained that Asia is a “vibrant and growing” market and is very important for GEA Pharmasystems, particularly because the eastward shift of the manufacturing sector has increased the need for equipment that “fulfills all FDA and other regulations for the production of pharmaceutical drugs for the international market.”
He added that the market “has high expectations in technology, reliability and stability of output” and requires “integrated solutions for production lines which GEA Pharma Systems is able to provide also together with strategic business partners. This provides a high degree of safety and guarantees a fast time to market.”