Amid constant drug shortages exacerbated by weak links in the supply chain, medical glass maker Schott Pharma is looking to fill the cracks with a new $371 million North Carolina facility.
Along with making glass syringes for popular GLP-1 drugs used to treat diabetes and obesity, the site will be the first in the U.S. to manufacture refillable polymer syringes necessary for deep-cold storage and transportation of mRNA meds, the company said in a press release.
The drugmaker currently makes vials at its facility in Lebanon, Pennsylvania. With its new site, it can triple its U.S. market offerings of glass and polymer syringes by 2030, which can help protect against future drug shortages and bulk up supply to maintain pandemic preparedness.
Schott Pharma aims to break ground on the new digs in Wilson, North Carolina, by the end of this year and kick off operations beginning in 2027, making for 401 new jobs.
“As drug manufacturers develop and expand the use of mRNA, GLP-1, and other biologic therapies that require precise drug stability and storage properties, Schott Pharma will be able to fill those orders quickly and efficiently here in the U.S.,” CEO Andreas Reisse said in the company’s release. “The impact of this facility will go far beyond local job creation in North Carolina and will relieve stress on the entire pharmaceutical industry supply chain.”
Schott Pharma is a major supplier of crucial glass containers. Its products are used in an average of over 25,000 injections per minute worldwide, according to the company.
As of September 2023, Schott Pharma had 16 production sites in 14 countries with a workforce totaling 4,700 across 65 countries. The manufacturer spun out as a standalone company from Germany-based glass conglomerate Schott in 2022 and launched an initial public offering in September. The wider Schott group is keen on U.S. expansion as a “strategic market” in its growth plan, Schott Pharma said in the release.
North Carolina has become a manufacturing hot spot in recent years. Schott Pharma as a manufacturer joins the likes of Eli Lilly, Fujifilm Diosynth, Thermo Fisher and Amgen, to name a few, in establishing a footprint in the state.
Japan’s Kyowa Kirin was the latest to join in with its $200 million biologics manufacturing plant in Sanford, North Carolina, where it plans to hire 102 employees. The company expects to finish the project in four years, it said in its March release.
Elsewhere in Wilson, Sandoz is shutting down one of its sites that it previously secured from an Eon Labs acquisition. That move came after continued price erosion across the generic drug industry left “no other options,” a Sandoz spokesperson said in an emailed statement at the time.
The closure will result in 213 layoffs effective Oct. 4, according to a February local Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification act alert.