The West Blog

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West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc., a global leader in innovative solutions for injectable drug administration, has released its 4040 LyoTec® Westar® Select Ready-to-Sterilize (RS) and Ready-to-Use (RU) Lyophilization Stoppers, the first components of a portfolio of vial closures to be developed using West’s new state-of-the art elastomer formulation, 4040/40 gray. By combining the demonstrated success of an established design and significant levels of expertise in testing and raw material selection, we have achieved improvements and optimized benefits across the spectrum of packaging attributes required for performance, quality, and safety of the packaging and delivery of lyophilized drug products.

Tara Haarlander. M

June 28, 2022

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Nurturing a culture of philanthropy and community involvement is one of the defining characteristics of West. Team members around the world take their responsibility to give back very seriously, donating considerable time and resources to help create a healthier world. West without Borders, our team member-led giving programme, has raised millions of dollars since its inception in 2004 and the initiatives in Ireland were recently recognised at the Pharma Industry Awards for Corporate Social Responsibility Programme of the Year.

Catriona Kennedy

June 23, 2022

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The presence of particulate matter (PM) in parenteral drug products is a well-known challenge for pharmaceutical companies due to the potential quality and safety risks involved. In biotherapeutics, critical attributes related to efficacy, potency, clinical safety, and immunogenicity can be affected by PM.^1-3
PM is defined as extraneous mobile undissolved particles (excluding gas bubbles) that are unintentionally present in solutions.⁴
Several USP chapters describe the measurement of PM, namely:

Tan Mary

June 02, 2022

Previous Blogs

Evaluation and Comparison of Protein Adsorption and Cellular Activities in Cyclic Olefin Polymer Container Systems for Drug Delivery and Cell-Based Applications

By Manfai Lee, PhD, George M Rodgers, MD, PhD, Randy Y Adachi, PhD

June 25, 2014

Manfai Lee, PhD¹, George M Rodgers, MD, PhD¹, Randy Y Adachi, PhD²

¹Division of Hematology and Hematologic Malignancies, University of Utah Health Sciences Center, Salt Lake City, UT ²West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc., Scottsdale, AZ

Comparison of the Stability of Four Biologics Stored in Prefillable Syringes Made of Glass or Plastic

By Lloyd Waxman and Vinod Vilivalam

June 18, 2014

The use of proteins as therapeutics has focused attention on the need to maintain the stability of these labile molecules during both storage and shipment. The trend in the pharmaceutical industry has been to package therapeutic proteins in prefillable syringes made of glass. However, some biologics are not stable in glass syringes due to sensitivity to adhesives used in their manufacture and to tungsten oxides generated during needle placement.