Download Three times tougher: New Chemically Strengthened

PRESS INFORMATION
No. 31/2015
Date: 16.10.2015
Place: Mainz, Germany
Three times tougher: New Chemically Strengthened
Cartridges Help Pharma Companies Avoid Breakage
With SCHOTT Cartridges BR, expensive or toxic drugs can be
processed, transported, and administered safely – even in rough
environments
SCHOTT has developed a chemically strengthened glass cartridge that is up
to three times more resistant to breakage. The new product named SCHOTT
Cartridges BR is designed specifically to offer utmost protection for very
expensive or toxic drugs and for medications that need to be applied in
hazardous environments where failure is just not an option. The company
will offer its chemically hardened cartridges in standard sizes and in
customer-specific designs. They can be used in auto-injectors, needle-free
injection devices and pen and pump systems.
“There are in fact situations in which break-resistant packaging can make the difference
between winning and losing. Sometimes, even between life and death when breakresistant packaging is used in areas of war and natural disaster where the conditions are
harsh”, explains SCHOTT Product Manager Andrea Wesp. ”Pharmaceutical companies
are also extremely interested in having break-resistant cartridges for storing drugs that are
particularly expensive or highly toxic,” Wesp explains. ”Here, the highest safety
precautions must be taken to protect employees on the production lines during the
manufacture and packaging of these substances. The same applies during transportation
of the drug and when administering it to the patient.”
To suit these types of situations, SCHOTT has now developed SCHOTT Cartridges BR
(“Breakage Resistant”). Two aspects were particularly important here: “We wanted to
retain the original precise geometry to make sure that the new cartridges still work with
standard pen systems,” explains Wesp. Simply shaping the walls to be thicker was
therefore out of question. ”Chemically hardening the glass proved to be an alternative that
would not affect the integrity of the drug,” she adds. The goal was to avoid an undesirable
reaction between the glass surface and the contents that could impair the drug’s
effectiveness.
PRESS INFORMATION
No. 031/2015
The answer was to further develop a glass hardening process that has been the industry
standard for many years. These efforts proved to be successful at the US development
lab in Pennsylvania, where SCHOTT researchers optimized a proven ion exchange
process for use in pharmaceuticals. The cartridges bathe in a potassium nitrate solution
during this process, whereby the sodium ions in the surface layer are exchanged for larger
potassium ions from the solution. This introduces the compressive strength of the glass’
surface layer without increasing the risk of extractables and leachables (E&L). Tests have
shown that the cartridges hardened in this manner are three times as resistant to
mechanical stresses.
SCHOTT’s Cartridges BR are available in standard and customized sizes. They are made
of high-quality FIOLAX® glass tubing which is the ideal starting material for cartridge
production thanks to its high chemical stability and accurate geometrical dimensions.
http://www.schott.com/english/news/press.html?NID=com4804
SCHOTT Cartridges BR are up to three times more resistant to breakage.
PRESS INFORMATION
No. 031/2015
SCHOTT is a leading international technology group in the areas of specialty glass and
glass-ceramics. The company has more than 130 years of outstanding development,
materials and technology expertise and offers a broad portfolio of high-quality products.
SCHOTT is an innovative enabler for many industries, including the home appliance,
pharmaceutical, electronics, optics, automotive and aviation industries. SCHOTT strives to
play an important part of everyone’s life and is committed to innovation and sustainable
success. The group maintains a global presence with production sites and sales offices in
35 countries. With its workforce of approximately 15,400 employees, sales of 1.87 billion
euros were generated in fiscal year 2013/2014. The parent company, SCHOTT AG, has
its headquarters in Mainz (Germany) and is solely owned by the Carl Zeiss Foundation.
As a foundation company, SCHOTT assumes special responsibility for its employees,
society and the environment. www.schott.com
Public Relations
SCHOTT AG
Christina Rettig
PR Manager
Phone: +49 (0)6131 - 66 4094
Fax: +49 (0)3641 - 28889 141
[email protected]
www.schott.com