West Pharma, a global leader in high quality packaging solutions for pharmaceutical products, has set its goal to capture at least 5 per cent of the global market with its new Crystal Zenith (CZ) pharmaceutical packaging products.

According to Kevin E. Cancelliere, director marketing pharmaceutical delivery systems of West Pharma, the company is aiming to capture at least 5 per cent of global markets with its new products. While talking to Pharmabiz at a seminar in Hyderabad, Kevin said, “We are focusing on AsiaPacific markets and India is significant for us in the region. We are predicting a good response from the generic and non-biologics manufacturers for our products in India. Initially we are focusing on niche segments where we can provide solutions to replace glass made packing material with our CZ products which are made up of cyclic olefin polymer (CoP) material.”

Currently, glass made parental packing materials for pharmaceutical products is widely used for prefilled syringes and vials. But there are problems with glass such as frequent breakdowns during transportation and reaction with silicon when some specific high value drug with higher concentration or with high PH is packed in glass ware.

In fact, all modern laboratory glassware is made of borosilicate material. It is widely used in applications where chemical and thermal resistance and good optical clarity are required. But on the flipside, glass can react with sodium hydride upon heating to produce sodium borohydride, a common laboratory reducing agent. Fused quartz is also found in some laboratory equipment when its higher melting point and transmission of UV are required. But again they may not provide 100 per cent intended results.
To overcome these problems with glass, West Pharma has introduced its Crystal Zenith products both in syringes and vials. These products provide high performance with medications and high break resistance, while the same may not be expected from glass ware for specific products.  For instance, the Daikyo Crystal Zenith syringes offer high break resistance and superior performance without silicone oil glue or tungsten as is observed in glass made syringes.

Similarly the CZ vials are also ideal for biotechnology, small molecules, cell therapy and radiopharmaceutical drugs. The high performance CZ vials and bulk containers provide no delamination from inside as in case of glass. It is compatible with high pH products and is highly break resistance during transport, storage or during handling. The CZ vials also designed to provide reduced peptide absorption and can be stored at cold and cryogenic temperatures, informed Kevin.

Overall, West Pharma is planning to venture aggressively with its high quality products CoP products and is looking to capture the niche segments initially in Asia Pacific region. The company has two manufacturing sites for CZ products one in Scottdale, Arizona in USA and the second is Daikyo in Japan.