Aptar Pharma and Kali Care have entered into a partnership to address the challenge of monitoring adherence in ophthalmic clinical trials. As part of the agreement, Aptar Pharma has acquired a 20% minority ownership in the Silicon Valley-based technology company.
The partnership combines Aptar Pharma’s ophthalmic device knowledge with Kali Care’s digital monitoring system for ophthalmic medications, which enables clinicians to collect real-time compliance data.
The partnership is the latest in several steps taken by the drug delivery solutions provider to further expand its device and service offerings.
Expanding internationally
At the end of March, Aptar Pharma inaugurated its Congers, NY site expansion, state-of-the-art manufacturing capabilities that will be used to complete premium injectable elastomeric component manufacturing for the pharmaceutical industry.
As previously reported, the addition adds space for clean rooms and integrated vision equipment that will be used to perform automatic inspection of all parts during the finishing process.
Alex Theodorakis, President of Aptar Pharma North America, told Outsourcing-Pharma.com the goal from the start was to expand outside of France in order to better serve markets across the Atlantic.
“It made the most sense to go to the US first,” he said, adding, “[the US] is certainly the biggest most valuable pharmaceutical market in the world. For us to really make an impact and grow significantly we needed to start with the US and put in place a manufacturing operation here.”
However, Theodorakis said it’s always a challenge expanding internationally, especially for the first time.
“But we have strong know-how and technical expertise in France,” he explained. “This is not just an America project for us, but a global project for the company.”
The site gives Aptar local expertise that can respond directly to customers “in the same time zone, same language, and the same culture,” said Theodorakis. “We will leverage that to grow the business.”