Bespak is announcing progress in its commitment to the production of low global warming potential (GWP) pressurised metered dose inhalers (pMDIs) with the arrival of its new high-speed commercial filling equipment on site, and commitment to further capacity expansion with an additional high-speed commercial filling line planned. These expansions will enable Bespak to provide customers with access to manufacturing capacity for both new low GWP pMDI propellants to meet increasing industry demand as propellant transition plans progress. Reflecting this high demand, capacity for the newly delivered line has already been fully reserved, and Bespak will be opening capacity reservations for the new line in the coming weeks.
Over recent years, pharmaceutical companies have worked to replace the propellants used in their pMDIs. Regulations around the use of environmentally damaging propellants have tightened, with the Kigali amendment to the Montreal Protocol resulting in the need to reduce the production and consumption of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). Additionally, a need to improve the sustainability of the pharmaceutical industry has meant that individual companies need to reduce their emissions, as current HFC-based propellant emissions can represent a significant proportion of an individual pharmaceutical company’s carbon footprint.
Low GWP manufacturing capacity is in scarce supply, so Bespak is investing in its manufacturing capacity to solve this problem and support its customers’ transition towards the use of green propellants in pMDI manufacturing. Leading the market as the first CDMO to manufacture pMDIs with HFO-1234ze—a near-zero GWP propellant—at commercial scale, Bespak has moved quickly to secure its new state-of-the-art filling lines. These lines, from DH Industries (Pamasol), will expand the capacity at its Holmes Chapel site and will be capable of manufacturing with both HFA-152a and HFO-1234ze, the two new climate-friendly propellants. This means that customers have access to both types of currently available green propellants, supporting customers’ transition needs and multiple types of pMDIs for the benefit of patients. While capacity has already been fully reserved for the newly delivered line, the further expansion is progressing to plan and Bespak will be running a process to allocate this capacity to customers in August.