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    An interview with Dr Karl Leitner, head of production, Octapharma

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    An interview with Dr Karl Leitner, head of production, Octapharma
    North America, Mexico, Europe, Nordic Countries, Sweden, France, Switzerland, France, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Germany, Austria, Health, Pharmaceuticals, Primary Packaging, Bottles, Bottles - Glass, Bottles - Vials, Glass, General Business Services

    Could you present Octapharma and its activities in the development, production and distribution of plasma products ?

    Octapharma’s core business is the development, production and sale of safe and effective medicines derived from human proteins in the following areas: Haematology (coagulation disorders), Immunotherapy (immune disorders), Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine. Octapharma is an independent, Swiss based company founded in 1983. The Group has since grown to include six state-of-the-art production plants in Austria, France, Germany, Sweden and Mexico,54 Plasma Donation Centers in the US and in Europe as well as 37 subsidiaries and representative offices. With over 4,000 employees, Octapharma currently makes sales in over 80 countries.

    Why did you choose SGD Pharma to supply the glass vials to package your blood derivative drug products ?

    The decision to change the supplier for injection and infusion vials was taken more than 10 years ago due to ongoing problems regarding quality aspects and pricing with the former suppliers. SGD Pharma was chosen because of its product portfolio covering all demands of Octapharma in terms of vial sizes and glass types as well as in terms of quality aspects.

    How would you describe the relationship with SGD Pharma ?

    Octapharma is a producer of high value pharmaceutical products and thus affected by recent trends in pharmaceutical industry to reduce tolerance against defects of primary packaging materials. This new “zero defect strategy”, more and more required by markets, is a huge challenge for each producer of pharmaceuticals as well as for suppliers of primary packaging materials. Along with this, there are currently several ongoing projects at Octapharma to reduce rejects of any kind during final container inspection. It has been possible to reduce the glass defect rate in final container inspection significantly with measures taken at our glass supplier SGD Pharma as well as in house. The key to success is continuous communication about the quality level and defect rate as well as immediate feedback in the case of any measurable deviation from the commonly agreed goals.

    See also

    SGD Pharma launches industry first ready-to-use sterile 100 ml molded glass vials in SG EZ-fill packaging technology

    Worldwide glass primary packaging supplier SGD Pharma has announced the introduction of its 100H ml Ready-to-Use (RTU) Type I molded glass vials for aseptic fill/finish of parenteral drug products. The addition of 100 ml molded glass vials to the Sterinity platform is pioneering, with SGD Pharma being the first global molded glass manufacturing company to offer this size of solution in the RTU market.

    SGD Pharma speeds up time to market with industry first Ready-to-Use Nest & Tub packaging solution for molded glass vials

    Increased demand for parenteral drugs generated by the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in additional pressures being placed on biopharmaceutical companies to accelerate their time-to-market. This new RTU primary and secondary packaging combination from SGD Pharma offers biopharmaceutical producers the flexibility they need to deliver innovative medicines to patients significantly faster.

    SGD Pharma upgrades its Chinese plant toward an automated and improved production

    SGD Pharma's Zhanjiang (China) plant produces 1.2 million Type II & III flint molded glass vials daily for the parenteral market and for health care beauty products. With a surface of ​​85,000m2, the plant included a glass furnace, 6 production lines, an ISO 8 clean room of 2000m2, a resorting room and a customization workshop. In early 2018, SGD Pharma invested 7 million Euros to improve the automation and the production, including the rebuilding of the furnace, to make the plant an exemplary production center.

    • Interview
    • English
    • Modified 26 Oct 2018
    • Hits 3471
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