Pharmaniaga successfully installs Malaysia’s first pre-filled syringe filling line
08 Feb 2023
Pharmaniaga Bhd, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Pharmaniaga LifeScience Sdn Bhd, has successfully installed a pre-filled syringe (PFS) filling line, the first of its kind in Malaysia, recently.
In a statement on Wednesday (Feb 8), it said the vaccine plant is part of Pharmaniaga LifeScience’s ongoing expansion plan towards becoming the world’s first halal vaccine manufacturing plant.
Besides the PFS filling machine, Pharmaniaga said that the plant has also commissioned other PFS packing equipment, including denester, automatic visual inspection (AVI) machine, plunger insertion machine, labelling and two-in-one combi unit of washer-steriliser.
Group managing director Datuk Zulkarnain Md Eusope said the vaccine plant has been handed over in November last year, and underwent equipment factory acceptance tests (FATs) for the production water system in Sweden for purified water, water for injection and pure steam generator in January this year.
“We are pleased to share this latest progress of our vaccine plant and honoured to have Malaysia’s first PFS filling line at our European Union (EU)-certified high-technology plant in Puchong,” he said.
He said the plant has also successfully passed tests to administer vaccine testing equipment targeted to be delivered in the first quarter of this year.
“We target for the vaccine plant’s overall completion by the third quarter of this year,” he said.
Meanwhile, Zulkarnain said Pharmaniaga LifeScience’s ongoing halal insulin project is presently at 82%.
“We are concurrently completing our insulin plant located in the same building for insulin cartridges,” he said.
He said the FATs activities for labelling and blister packing machines were completed in December 2022.
“Whereas other FATs activities for insulin such as dispensing booths, washer-steriliser, solution manufacturing system (SMS), cartridge filling line and AVI machine are scheduled to start in February 2023.
“This halal insulin plant is targeted to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2023,” he said.
He said thehalal biopharmaceutical plants are targeted to be commercialised in 2024 for vaccine and 2025 for insulin.
Zulkarnain said both vaccine and insulin plants are the world’s first, and are in line with the group’s strategic growth pillar that would spur future growth of the halal biopharmaceutical industry of the nation.
The manufacturing division of Pharmaniaga comprises six manufacturing plants across Malaysia and two in Indonesia, which produce a range of products from pharmaceuticals, biopharmaceuticals, and over-the-counter (OTC) to nutraceuticals.
These include products catering to different therapeutic categories such as cardiovascular, respiratory, gastrointestinal, anti-diabetic, analgesics, anti-infectives, vaccines, insulins and health supplements for the local and international markets.
Source: Bernama
