The world awaits a vaccine to vanquish the novel coronavirus. But, finding or developing it is only half the battle. Succeeding in the Herculean task of ensuring access to the vaccine and enabling immunisation at an unprecedented speed and scale will be crucial to winning the war against this pandemic. So, it is important to keep the pharma industry in a prepared mode to achieve this goal.
Readying for the future
This translates into a huge challenge and an opportunity, not only for the vaccine makers but also for their partners. Meeting the massive demand that will arise for glass vials, is a case in point. Therefore, some leading glass packaging partners in India divulge how they are increasing their preparedness to meet the demand.
Gerresheimer India
Khasim Saheb, MD ‑ Primary Packaging Glass India, Gerresheimer informs, “Type1 glass manufacturers are ready to serve the pharma sector for COVID-19 vaccination. Gerresheimer India is tripling its capacity of tubular glass by end of 2020 and doubling its capacity of moulded vials by end of 2021. We are also making strategic investments in adding capacities in terms of equipment and technology.”
“2 ml Type1 tubular glass vials, 3 ml moulded vials are most favoured for vaccines currently, but moulded glass Type 1 vials are also used, especially for multi-dose vaccines. Multidose vaccinations with 10 ml, 20 ml, 30 ml and 50 ml moulded vials can be an immediate solution in case of a shortage of vials. We have sufficient capacity of moulded glass Type1 vials available too,” he apprises.
However, admitting that the demand for vials is likely to go up significantly, he states, “Though it is difficult to assess accurately at this point of time, the demand is likely to be in billions for a couple of years after a vaccine is discovered. Therefore, reputed pharma companies are securing capacities for 2021 and 2022. We have given the inventory/capacities of our spare capacities to several pharma companies,” updates Saheb on the global scenario.
But, he also assures that Gerresheimer is continuously expanding its capacities as part of its strategic growth plan globally and is ready to serve the pharma industry and COVID-19 vaccine requirements.
Schott Kaisha
Rishad Dadachanji, Director, Schott Kaisha divulges, “Schott Kaisha has been pro-actively expanding its production capabilities over the past years, including an investment of around 50 million euros since last year. With its newest facility in Umarsadi (Gujarat), it is already manufacturing over three billion pieces of ampoules, vials, syringes and cartridges annually. The upcoming facility at Baddi, Himachal Pradesh will be Schott Kaisha’s fourth manufacturing plant that will further add to our production capabilities.”
“We are confident that we can quickly expand our production capabilities in case the demand arises. In fact, as a joint venture with the world’s leading and largest manufacturer for tubular glass and containers, the technology group SCHOTT AG, we have the further strength to bring in additional capacity from their 14 other locations worldwide, if required. There are no challenges hindering any further ramp-up. Pharma has been a focus sector for India over the past years, and the overall growth has led to a conducive environment for expansion for its packaging industry as well,” he adds.
Explaining why his outlook for the future is optimistic, Dadachanji says, “India’s position within the global pharma segment has strengthened over the years as part of its vision to become the world’s pharma hub. The global pharma packaging industry has also been growing rapidly, and now it is even more important to ensure ample supply of high-quality glass packaging products, for drugs manufacturers all over the world. In fact, SCHOTT KAISHA itself has a contribution of about six per cent towards the global supply of glass packaging products, as it supplies more three billion pieces out of approximately 50 billion pieces produced and sold globally per annum.”
He updates, “We do not foresee any vial shortage. We are in a very strong position to meet our customer’s current and anticipated...
(All Rights Reserved)