Recipharm boosts sterile injectables capabilities in France
The €18m ($22m) investment – supported by local and departmental bodies Région Grand Est and CCI Alsace Eurométropole – also covers a 2,400m² expansion, to house a potential three more lines.
The Blow-Fill-Seal (BFS) line employs an injection moulding technique to make unit doses of sterile drugs.
Plastic polymer resin is heated, and then extruded to form a tube – known as a parison.
The parison is cut with a knife and inflated with sterile air from a blow-fill needle. The container is then filled with the liquid drug, and sealed.
The Kayserberg site general manager Yves Buelens said the investment responds to increased customer demand for single-dose and sterile manufacturing services, in particular “aseptic processing for eye care and ear care products, particularly from markets such as the US, Turkey, Australia and Canada.”
The additional line will enable the CDMO to take on new customer projects more quickly, while continuing to meet current client orders, said Buelens.
“The additional space we’ve added also means we are also well positioned for further growth in line with future customer demand,” he added.
In 2015, Recipharm announced plans to purchase the BFS plant – located in France’s north-eastern Alsace region – from Alcon, and turn it into a contract manufacturing site.
