PCI will develop its clinical and commercial packaging operations, as well as its cold chain capacity to capitalize on the increasing market for biologics.
This will be done through the $20m (€17.4m) expansion of its center of excellence in Philadelphia, US, and its cold chain services at numerous global locations.
“With the increased market activity around biologic and biosimilar development, business demand has warranted continued expansion of our capacity, particularly around the ongoing migration to advanced delivery forms such as autoinjectors, pen devices, and advanced safety syringes for both commercial and clinical supply,” a spokesperson for PCI told us.
The investment will increase capacity for the labeling and assembly of such advanced delivery forms at the company’s center for excellence.
PCI’s injectable delivery form capabilities include ampoules, vials, cartridges and standard prefilled syringes, with services for both simple and complex kitting for clinical and commercial applications.
PCI’s expansion of its cold chain capabilities will allow for the company to handle biologic medicines. The company maintains a cold chain and ultra-cold chain portfolio, as well as cryogenic temperatures for advanced medicinal therapeutic products, including cell and gene therapy.
The spokesperson explained that the cold chain expansion was necessary for the biologic market. “Biologic medicines predominantly require cold chain logistics – refrigerated or, in some instances, frozen – which has predicated our desire to add expansive and market-leading cold storage across our global network,” the spokesperson said.