German industrial specialty glass products manufacturer Schott is set to launch adaptiQ ready-to-use pharmaceutical vials to streamline syringe production.
The adaptiQ system full-scale production is being advanced at the company's US facility in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, in preparation for commercial launch scheduled early in 2015.
Schott Pharmaceutical Packaging Business Unit North America sales and marketing vice president Christopher Cassidy said: "Since introducing the adaptiQ concept at CPhI Worldwide 2014, we have received strong interest from our customers.
"Based on the positive feedback from the market, we now plan to allocate even more of our U.S. manufacturing resources to the production of adaptiQ vials."
Meanwhile, the syringe production line will also be transferred to Schott's Center of Excellence for Pharmaceutical Packaging Solutions in St. Gallen, Switzerland by the end of September 2016.
Cassidy said: "Relocating production from the U.S. to St. Gallen, Switzerland enables us to further improve the quality of our products and to implement new innovations across our full production output more rapidly."
The adaptiQ is combination of a holder that can contain about 100 vials securely fixed inside a nest in order to be delivered to a pharmaceutical company packaged in a sterile container.
The new concept is said to enable companies fill the vials immediately by avoiding arduous processing steps such as washing, drying and sterilization as well as freeze-drying, weighing and closing while inside the nest.
The new nested packaging also claims to protect the glass containers from scratches caused by vial-to-vial and vial-to-machine contact. This helps in reducing the reject rate and also preserves the cosmetic quality of the vials.
