CMOs Attack Biomanufacturing Market - Lyophilization Articles & Reports

Vetter Broadens Capabilities
Another major player in the European contract manufacturing arena has announced expansion plans, this time for the fill-and-finish (sterile injectable manufacturing) segment of the business.
Vetter Pharma-Fertigung (Ravensburg, Germany) announced that it is adding two product lines: sterile, clean and ready-to-fill syringe (SCF) filling capacity, and liquid and lyophilized vial filling. Up to now, Vetter has specialized in bulk syringe processing, as well as prefilled cartridges. It also offers its proprietary Lyo-Ject dual-chamber syringe, which can contain a lyophilized powder and diluent in a single device. It is known to be the contract manufacturer of several high-profile biopharmaceuticals, including Abbott's Humira product for treating rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases.
The addition of vials and SCF syringes is clearly targeted at the biopharmaceutical industry, particularly in North America. Many new biopharmaceuticals, especially those meant to be self-administered by the patient, are launched in a lyophilized vial presentation and then converted to a prefilled syringe presentation once a stable liquid formulation is developed and market acceptance is confirmed. Without the vial presentation, Vetter was often left out of a new product's launch plans and had to compete with the original manufacturer for the prefilled syringe version. By offering the vial presentation, Vetter can work on the launch presentation and work with the client through the product life cycle, moving it either to a liquid-filled syringe or its Lyo-Ject dual-chamber syringe.
The addition of SCF syringes is particularly important for the North American market, where SCF syringes are the preferred technology compared with bulk syringes.
The new capabilities signal Vetter's willingness to compete aggressively with other CMOs for the business of biopharmaceutical companies. Cardinal Health/Federa (Brussels and USA), Baxter BioPharma Solutions (USA) and Patheon (Swindon, UK, and Ferentino and Monza, Italy) all offer vial and prefilled syringe capabilities; other CMOs are expected to follow. The contract parenteral manufacturing sector has become very competitive, and Vetter management has realized that it must reach beyond its traditional competencies if the company is to grow.
Jim Miller is the president of PharmSource Information Services Inc., USA.