Image Credit: Adobe Stock Images/Hardvicore.com
Sharp, a provider of commercial pharmaceutical packaging and clinical trial supply services, will be expanding its Macungie, PA plant in order to boost its production capacity for sterile injectables secondary packaging.1
The Macungie expansion project is expected to provide greater capacity for secondary packaging activities, including autoinjector/pen assembly and labeling; vial labeling; pre-filled syringe assembly and labeling; and injectables kitting and cartoning for pharma and biotech companies. The project adds 157,500 square feet of open space, which now grows the facility to a total of 315,000 square feet. It also makes Sharp’s total global footprint over 1.7 million square feet.
This latest news comes after the company recently added a 660-pallet 2-8˚C cold box to its repertoire, which was commissioned at the end of April.
“Demand for sterile injectable medicines has skyrocketed over the last few years due to increased investment in the biologics industry across all therapeutic categories, rare and orphan disease therapies, and blockbuster GLP-1 agonists,” noted Jeff Benedict, Sharp’s chief commercial officer.
The increase in growth capacity comes at a time when, as a Grand View Research reported, the sterile injectable market is predicted to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 8% over the next 10 years to reach $5.7 billion by 2030.2
“With this expansion, the Macungie site will double in size allowing Sharp to offer additional capacity and capabilities for our biopharma clients for complex biologics and small-molecule injectable medicines,” commented Kevin Orfan, CEO of Sharp. “Plans include the construction and fit-out of new packaging suites, ambient warehouse space, cold storage rooms as well as equipment and technology to support assembly, labelling and packaging of injectables. Once the GMP [good manufacturing practice] infrastructure is in place, we anticipate adding 75-100 colleagues to the Sharp team.”
In other news pertaining to sterile injectables, late last year, Sharp acquired Berkshire Sterile Manufacturing (BSM), a fill-finish contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) for clinical and commercial sterile injectable products, which was a turning point for its expansion efforts.3 As a result of the deal, the parties will be able to provide biopharma customers with global, integrated CDMO services, ranging from sterile drug product manufacturing to clinical trial services, commercial packaging, and distribution.
“The market continues to demand expertise and capacity in sterile manufacturing due in part to the growth in rare and orphan disease therapies. With sterile injectables a huge part of addressing this unmet medical need, the acquisition of BSM allows Sharp to provide a fully integrated solution for our biopharma clients that is a natural extension of our existing injectables and clinical packaging expertise,” commented Orfan. “This acquisition, which builds on the existing partnership between our two companies, will greatly benefit our clients, creating an efficient manufacturing and distribution service for biotech companies developing sterile injectable products across the world.”
Reference
1. Sharp Services announces expansion in Pennsylvania to facilitate growth in sterile injectable market. Sharp Services. May 6, 2024. Accessed May 14, 2024. https://www.sharpservices.com/about-us/news/sharp-services-announces-expansion-in-pennsylvania-to-facilitate-growth-in-sterile-injectable-market/
3. Sharp acquires Berkshire Sterile Manufacturing. Sharp Services. October 5, 2023. Accessed May 14, 2024. https://www.sharpservices.com/about-us/news/sharp-acquires-berkshire-sterile-manufacturing/
