Pharmaceutical primary packaging components for aseptic filling

The ready-to-use syringe has been an established primary packaging format in the pharmaceutical industry for over 30 years and has paved the way for other RTU formats such as vials and cartridges. With several billion units in circulation worldwide, it represents the largest share within this segment today.

The concept combines simplicity with technical precision: pre-sterilized containers are cleaned, assembled, and placed into specially designed tub and nest systems. Protected by liner, lid, and sterile packaging, they are reliably shielded from external influences and can be safely transported into cleanroom environments.

Cartridges offer an additional advantage, as they can be supplied with a pre-crimped closure, simplifying subsequent processing steps.

High flexibility for different requirements

The use of RTU packaging with nested transport enables maximum flexibility. Complex format parts are no longer required, resulting in reduced changeover times and more efficient system operation.

With combifill technology, groninger systems are designed to process RTU syringes, vials, and cartridges as standard. They are suitable for small batches in research and clinical trials as well as for high-speed filling, for example in vaccine production. Depending on the configuration, system output ranges from 5 to 1,000 units per minute, covering a wide range of applications.

Non-sterile vials are the primary packaging material most used in the pharmaceutical industry: Every year, around 20 billion vials are filled. With this type of packaging, non-sterile vials are delivered, which are then washed and sterilized on the line directly before filling.

This approach makes sense if only vials are processed in larger batches. Line changeovers are very complex with these primary packaging components. A change to syringes or cartridges is not possible.

A line is generally able to process between 60 and 400 units per minute.

In the past, so-called syringe bulk lines were used very frequently. For these lines, the syringes were delivered non-sterile and, similar to the processing of non-sterile vials, washed and sterilized directly on the line before they were filled and closed.

However, since syringes are not particularly stable, individual slides are required for them, which made processing very complex.

The use of pre-sterilized syringes combined with an increase in sales leads to significantly lower costs. Today, the processing of non-sterile syringes in bulk hardly plays a role.