Collaboration

The need to provide vaccines for the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has presented the pharmaceutical industry with unprecedented challenges. Among them are accelerated timelines for development/approval and unanticipated volumes for manufacture/delivery. Ordinarily for a new drug product, there is ample time for selecting the primary package system and establishing component availability.

Innovation in manufacturing involves a spectrum of evolution improvements resulting in what West’s partner Daikyo Seiko, Ltd. considers "Absolute Quality." Recent continuous improvement efforts helped Daikyo achieve even higher levels in cleanliness of elastomer products.

Fill-Finish engineering and process development are a critical step to ensuring product quality and manufacturability for injectable products. Fill-Finish involves technique driven process steps with considerations around patient safety at the forefront of each step. The complexity of aseptic processing and sterile fill-finish operations will continue to grow as more complex drug products enter the pipeline.

West’s Ready Pack™ system with adaptiQ^® products, that are part of the SCHOTT iQ^® platform, enables both small and large customers the convenience and flexibility to purchase small quantities of sterile, high-quality, ready-to-use (RTU) components. Ready Pack system components are packaged separately but tested for use as an integrated system. Designed to support customers throughout small-scale R&D, clinical trials, fill-finish evaluation, and commercial-scale manufacturing, the Ready Pack system is a comprehensive, scalable packaging solution that helps customers get to market faster by making the same high-quality packaging available from start to finish. Ready Pack systems keep up with emerging ISO standards and our Ready Pack offering includes the latest glass packaging formats such as adaptiQ^® clip nest, cup nest, and tray solution.

How does West respond to increased demand to produce supplies needed for use with treatments to combat the coronavirus? The answer is – with years of experience, careful planning, and a robust manufacturing program. We are committed to doing our part to speed the successful development and large-scale manufacture of high-quality components required to serve customer needs for the delivery of a safe, effective COVID-19 vaccine, which includes expanding labor and equipment resources.

For the healthcare industry, the last decade has brought profound changes that continue to shape how drugs are discovered, developed and commercialized. At West, we pride ourselves on helping customers manage change by continuously delivering innovative products and services. Our company keeps close tabs on industry trends to anticipate unmet need in the market and, when appropriate, to disrupt existing value networks.