The facility, based in Ravensburg, is primarily to be used for cold-storage and room-temperature goods as well as amenities for automatic and manual visual inspection. Space will also be provided for stability chambers, large sealed containment units that can provide controlled environmental conditions including temperature and humidity.
Vetter, a producer of aseptically pre-filled syringe systems, cartridges and vials, has invested more than 30 million Euros in the facility’s initial construction phase, which is scheduled for completion by the end of 2011.
The facility also allows for end-to-end material tracking to ensure optimised processes and high traceability. Specially secured storage rooms for visual inspection help prevent product mix-ups and cross-contamination.
"Our investment is an investment in our partnership with customers worldwide," said Thomas Otto, Vetter Managing Director.
"The facility will broaden the base for our global market supply and underscores our dedication to staying at the forefront of technology," he added.
Vetter Pharma’s move in investing in such a purpose built facility comes as the demand from Pharmaceuticals and Biologics customers to be able to track and monitor assets across the supply chain becomes ever more vocal.
With the current global biopharmaceutical market currently projected at US$48 billion, the need for an increased oversight, management, and control of environmental conditions across the entire supply chain has become a primary concern especially if the supply chain operates worldwide.
With much of Vetter’s international business within the delicate aseptic filling of liquid and lyophilized drugs, its manufacturing processes could arguably need to meet additional safety guidelines from the various regulatory bodies.
Aseptic filling is one of the areas that has seen the most growth in the pharmaceutical outsourcing sector in recent years as drugmakers keen to enter the lucrative markets have sought ways to reduce the cost of such operations.
According to IMS Health, The global market share of pre-filled syringe systems has grown to almost 1 billion units, with the European market dominating. The U.S. and Japanese markets are quickly catching up: Japan's market share in pre-filled syringe systems grew by more than 20% in 2004.
In April, Vetter announced the cleanroom infrastructure at its new Chicago facility has remained on schedule for launch of operations at the beginning of the fourth quarter 2010.
The new unit, 24,000sq ft of microbiology and chemistry laboratories, includes several cleanrooms one of which, featuring a Bosch MHI 2020 automated vial filler that will focus on high-value biopharmaceuticals.
In March last year, the firm also set up a new subsidiary, Vetter Pharma International (VPI) to take charge of sales, marketing and customer services.