Finnish pharma giant upgrades containment capabilities

Finnish pharma giant Fermion chooses technology from the UK in a bid to bolster protection for staff from hazardous chemicals and boost growth.  

Fermion has a long history of development and manufacture of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) from its FDA approved facilities in Finland since the company was established in the 1970s.  

UK group ChargePoint Technology’s PharmaSafe split butterfly valve from its device range has now been installed at Fermion’s factory in Espoo.  

The PharmaSafe split butterfly valves (SBV) have been used as an operator safety device within fine chemical and solid dose pharma production for over 15 years by minimising the amount of airborne particulate exposure while transferring toxic powders form one process step to another.  

Fermion selected the PharmaSafe containment for the transfer of raw ingredients from the dispensing stage to reactors for synthesis, to reduce the threat of contamination and jeopardy of exposing production staff to potentially harmful particulate.  

Jarkko Helminen, process development manager at the Fermion Espoo site, said: “As a manufacturer, safeguarding production staff is of primary concern when developing products and planning for future growth, both in technological advancement and quality of finished APIs.

“ChargePoint Technology created the solution to meet and maintain our commitment to the safety of our staff during the processing of APIs at our kilo facility in Espoo.”  

Earlier this year ChargePoint moved to a new 27,000/sq ft. production hub and office space in Speke, Liverpool, which has been fitted out with more than £1m worth of technology for the manufacturing of its advanced devices.  

Michael Avraam, product manager - containment at ChargePoint Technology, said:

“Our growth over the past two years has been rapid and this is due to the changes happening in the pharma industry, which is developing more products, faster, and increasingly protecting their staff from the risk of being exposed to toxic chemicals.  

“The relationship we have built with Fermion has allowed us to supply a valve that supports their business growth strategy and maximise protection for staff."