DCSIMG

Hidden Champions

When fighting cancer, the promise of a pharmaceutical drug being packaged in its proper type of glass is often overlooked. Even the best possible drug could not be stored, transported, or even administered without the right packaging. No one should have to worry about their own treatment.

At a closer look, when someone is diagnosed with cancer, they will find certain things suddenly being put to the test. Those very same qualities they are challenged by are integral to the process of delivering a high quality glass for pharmaceutical packaging.

People

Meet our champions

Together with I Had Cancer, we invited individuals whose lives have been affected by cancer to tell us about their biggest challenges.

“After my diagnosis, strength took on a new meaning for me. I am stronger in so many more ways for going through it.”

– Kiku, breast cancer patient

“Resilience is not just about surviving day to day – it’s what you DO with your time. I was determined to reclaim my life, and adopted that same mentality for each cancer battle I faced.”

– Jessica, Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma & Endometrial cancer survivor

“When I was discussing my upcoming lung surgery with my surgeon she told me, ‘you have to trust me.’ This was one small example of how placing confidence in others became a big part of my experience.”

– Michael, Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma survivor

Technology

Borosilicate Glass – a high-tech material

For over a century, Borosilicate glass has been the gold standard to package pharmaceutical drugs. It has a number of qualities which make it particularly suitable for use as primary packaging for pharmaceutical products.

What makes Borosilicate glass so special?

Strength
to defy any challenge

Glass as a material remains unchanged under all normal environmental circumstances. It has an extremely high shape stability at temperatures of up to 500°C and well below freezing point. It stores the drug safely and prevents contamination by harmful substances.

Resilience
to bounce back

Over time, drugs can interact with the packaging material and harm the efficacy of a drug. To prevent this, Borosilicate glass contains boron oxide (among other elements) to stabilize the glass network.

Trust
in experience

Glass technologist Otto Schott invented borosilicate glass almost 120 years ago. More than 40 billion containers are made of it every year. This translates into approximately 110 million injections per day, 4.5 million injections per hour and 1,250 injections per second applied out of a borosilicate glass container.

SCHOTT AG still manufactures this type of glass for the pharmaceutical industry under the brand name FIOLAX®.

Next

Standing the test of time

Can a material that has been on the market for over a century still meet today‘s requirements? The answer is yes – thanks to improved manufacturing and tighter process control. With the help of Big Data and AI, SCHOTT has been making significant progress on the critical glass forming parameters.

The result is a glass tubing with an even better chemical stability and controlled hydrolytic resistance of the inner surface (FIOLAX® CHR), without changing the glass composition itself.

The goal: a perfect glass tube which will eventually become the best-possible packaging of a vital drug.

Let‘s continue a 100 years success story.

What’s your next
milestone?

Contact

Rina Della Vecchia
Marketing and Communication
SCHOTT North America, Inc.

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