BioPharma Summit in China

China has now stepped into its “golden age” of biopharma; this year regulators approved the country’s first biosimilar product, HLX01.  Developed by Shanghai Henlius Biotech, it will be used primarily for treatment of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.  Biologics are sensitive large molecules, so selecting the appropriate packaging and delivery system is critical.  To this end, West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (“West”) recently held China BioPharma Summit for Injectable Drug Packaging and Delivery Systems in Suzhou.  Over 200 persons attended.

A broad range of topics were discussed by speakers from West, Daikyo Seiko, Ltd., China National Pharmaceutical Packaging Association (CNPPA), Shanghai Food and Drug Packaging Materials Control Center, Shanghai Henlius Biotech, Wuxi Biologics, and GBI. Highlights included:

• Fran DeGrazio, West, VP, Scientific Affairs and Technical Services, presented on challenges of delivering a biologic drug to the market and combination product development. She also presented on West capabilities and introduced the Simplify the Journey™ approach.
• Sok Tiang Koh, West, VP, Scientific Affairs and Technical Customer Support, Asia-Pacific, introduced PFS plungers designed for biologic drugs and highlighted the Quality-by-Design (QbD) principles adopted by West.
• Risako Tanaka, Daikyo Seiko, Ltd., Section Chief, Sales and Marketing, presented on Daikyo and D-Sigma products.
• Hong Cai, Vice-Chairman of CNPPA, discussed the latest regulations on China DMFs.
• Dr Xu Jun, Shanghai Food and Drug Packaging Materials Control Center, presented on application of compatibility studies, consistency testing of rubber stoppers, and comparison of pharmacopeia requirements.
• Dr. Han Dongmei, Shanghai Henlius Biotech, Director of Process Development, discussed selection of drug packaging components.
• Qifeng Bao, Wuxi Biologics, Assistant Director, spoke on robotic aseptic filling technology.
• Robert McTiernan, GBI, Head of Content Strategy, introduced trends in China’s biologics market.

West is committed to staying abreast of world-wide drug product developments and supporting customers in getting the right packaging and delivery systems for their products. For more on West, contact an Account Manager or Technical Customer Support (TCS) representative.