Stralfors says pack service plan can help drugmakers hit deadlines
Stralfors, which specialises in supplying secondary pharmaceutical packaging, worked with the Danish insulin giant on the time sensitive European launch of Victoza (liraglutide) earlier this year.
The need to ensure that the drug could be brought to market as soon as possible, thereby maximising its earning and market share potential, had a direct impact on Stralfors and its working practices according to Nordisk’s Per Baatrup.
In order to comply with the launch schedule, Sweden-based Stralfors had to cut its delivery lead times from weeks two hours by implementing a production plan that involved several of its facilities operating 24 hours a day seven days a week.
Service plan
The manufacturing plan that Stralfors developed for the Victoza project is now being offered to all of the firm’s pharmaceutical customers.
Project manager Vagn Haagen Petersen said: “We work though a proforma project plan with each customer, including everything from set information points for efficient information handling and prepress design services for changing production requirements to comprehensive logistic solutions.”
He added: “Detained planning and good partnership is a necessity for today’s increasing pressures and the only way in which we can improve the process flow for our customers to help them achieve their strict targets.”
FDA delays Victoza review
Other time-to-market issues have affected Victoza in recent weeks with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announce that it had delayed its decision on approval of the drug to sometime in Q4.
Nordisk spokesman Mike Rulis told Reuters that the delay is “not a sign that new things have come up or that complications have emerged," and instead attributed it to the agency’s current workload.
Despite these assurances the market reaction was negative with Nordisk’s share proce falling markedly when the news was announced on concerns that the delay will hurt Victoza in terms of market competition with the long acting version of Eli Lilly’s Byetta.
