SCHOTT Pharma cuts ribbon on Pennsylvania vial plant

SCHOTT Pharma announced June 3 it had cut the ribbon on its new Lebanon, Pennsylvania, prefilled pharmaceutical vial factory. According to a company statement, the $60 million expansion was “largely” funded by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, but neither the company nor the governor’s office disclosed what portion of the $60 million came from the program, which is administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

According to SCHOTT Pharma, the new site is its only site capable of producing its adaptiQ pre-washed and sterilized ready-to-use vials, as well as only one of two owned by the company that makes its EVERIC-brand pure vials.

It’s not clear if the newly expanded facility will include any new hires. A release from the Pennsylvania governor’s office said the expansion would help “retain” 200 jobs at the site.

In a company release, SCHOTT leadership thanked BARDA for the funding and said the expansion would help the company shift towards the ready-to-use prefilled medicine vials, which can be filled by contract manufacturing organizations.

What people are saying

“The expansion contributes to SCHOTT Pharma’s long-term global growth strategy, with a strong local-for-local presence in the U.S. and scaled manufacturing capacity for high-value solutions that address key trends in the pharmaceutical industry, such as biologic medications and novel drug formulations,” said Christian Mias, CEO of SCHOTT Pharma.

"From day one, I've worked to grow Pennsylvania's economy and make our Commonwealth the best place to create new jobs and real opportunity," said Governor Shapiro. "Nearly two months ago, I sat down with the President of SCHOTT North America at the NFL Draft in Pittsburgh to talk about why Pennsylvania is the best state in the nation for economic development - and today we are celebrating a significant investment in our Commonwealth. Pennsylvania is on the rise and thanks to this new, expanded manufacturing facility, our $50 billion life sciences industry is poised for even more growth."

“We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority for supporting the expansion of our U.S.-based manufacturing footprint. With its new advanced equipment, our site in Pennsylvania is strengthening supply chain resilience in the U.S. and ensuring the availability of primary packaging for critical life-saving therapies for patients throughout our nation,“ said Christopher Cassidy, President SCHOTT Pharma USA.

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