Comprehensive system-based service for pharma glassware and plastics: information from Gerresheimer in Rimini

From 14 to 16 June 2006 it is being held for the 46th time, and again well over 500 participants are expected at the venue in Rimini. A key area of focus is once more the subject of pharmaceutical packaging and drug delivery: as an internationally renowned specialist in this sector the
Gerresheimer Group is participating with an exhibition and a specialist lecture.

Already one of the market leader in Europe and North America in the field of pharmaceutical glassware, the Gerresheimer Group is now expanding into China, as shown by its latest company acquisition. In addition, it is recognised worldwide as the technology leader in the field of prefillable syringe systems, for example, where for many years it has been a valued partner for dialogue in AFI circles. In 2006 the information offered by the Group is likely to be met with increased interest since its presentation now also covers a multifacetted
range of plastic packaging to the highest professional standards. “The symposium stimulates new ideas across the entire spectrum of pharmaceutical development and drug delivery,” says Burkhard Lingenberg, Director of Corporate PR and Marketing for the Gerresheimer Group. ”As a total-service provider in the field of drug delivery we can now make a bigger contribution than ever
before.”

With highlights from a wide variety of packaging and system categories the exhibition (Stand 78/80) provides an excellent overview. The Gerresheimer glassPackaging Division exhibits tubular and moulded glass in the form of vials, ampoules, bottles and jars of all kinds with an attractive variety of shapes and design variants as well as a wide range of possibilities for specific surface treatments. In addition to finished packaging, visitors will see unshaped borosilicate glass tubing as an intermediary product for pharmaceutical packaging and systems: Gerresheimer as a vertically integrated manufacturer produces this itself in Europe and America. In this specialist area the host country Italy plays a special role for Gerresheimer, since the Group’s European production centre for tubular glass is Kimble Italiana in Pisa.

Type I glass from Italy is also very important for the Gerresheimer pharmaSystems Division. Pisa supplies it with tubular glass as the basic material for matched cartridges and prefillable all-glass syringes. Gerresheimer’s German subsidiary Bünder Glas, for example, uses this to produce sterile systems under the leading international trademark RTF® (Ready to Fill). Detailed information about the techniques employed, development objectives pursued and success achieved can be obtained by participants at the AFI
Symposium. In a specialist lecture, Dr. Thomas Schönknecht, Director Product Development/Product Management for Bünder Glas, provides a revealing insight into the details of production, refinements and markets for this future-oriented syringe category ("Requirements on coating and processing of prefillable syringes" - 3.45 p.m., 14 June).

This year, Gerresheimer will more than double its RTF® capacity. Process options such as burnt-on siliconisation and intelligent complementary systems – such as the Backstop and the Rigid Needle Shield – already suggest that growth rates will be even more dramatic than in the past. In addition to the underlying sterilesyringe technology, individual peripheral developments are the
subject of particular focus: an outstanding strength of the competence centre in Bünder Glas which will be the subject of particular interest in discussions at the AFI Symposium. This highly experienced Gerresheimer Unit which has for some time employed its own pharmacists is increasingly establishing a high-profile image in its demanding market as a highly professional consultancy and development partner. Its experts are often involved in the early stages of
concept development for new pharmaceutical products and work hand in hand with the pharma industry right through to the launch – including lifecycle management, technical documentation, assistance with registration procedures and full technical service.

The new Gerresheimer Systems Unit pharmaPlasticSystems is introduced at the symposium as the Group’s plastic specialist with equally high standards in terms of technology, development expertise and service-orientation. In Rimini it presents a cross-section of its multifacetted packaging and systems range for liquid and solid medications. With its widely varied forms, design features and pharmaceutical plastic types, it is perfectly tailored to cater for practically every conceivable need. Innovative dosage and application systems - for eye drops, nasal sprays and dry antibiotics to name just a few examples – set standards of their own. System quality is guaranteed to pharmacists by the overall concept of which the prime example is the unique range of tablet containers under the trademarks Duma® and Dudek™ – a wide and rigorously standardised modular system with unlimited variability through different closures and other accessories.