Stevanato Group S.p.A., a global provider of drug containment, drug delivery and diagnostic solutions to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and life sciences industries, together with Gerresheimer AG and SCHOTT Pharma AG & Co. KGaA, has entered into a strategic industry alliance to support market adoption of Ready-to-Use (RTU) vials and cartridges.
 
The Alliance for RTU aims to share expertise and technical knowledge in high-quality sterile primary packaging with pharmaceutical companies, CMOs, and CDMOs. Specifically, they focus on ready-to-fill vials and cartridges, highlighting the advantages of RTU configurations over conventional bulk packaging.

Advantages of Adopting an Industrial RTU Setup

Traditional fill-and-finish processes present several operational risks and require increased efficiency. By adopting an industrial ready-to-use (RTU) setup, pharmaceutical companies and Contract Manufacturing Organizations (CMOs) can benefit from reduced operational risks, enhanced flexibility and efficiency, and lower waste.  RTU technology can help streamline processes, increase productivity, and thus lower total cost of ownership (TCO) while reducing contamination risks and easing EU GMP Annex 1 compliance.
 
Pharmaceutical companies, CMOs and CDMOs opting for ready-to-use containers also can benefit from higher-quality products, which helps minimize the release of glass particles and risks of breakage or rejection while preserving the drug inside throughout its entire life cycle.
 
Additionally, the market is driving investment in advanced aseptic filling technologies due to increasing demand for injectable medicines and regulatory pressure to meet safety standards. In this context, the Alliance for RTU aims to create an expert platform open to other industry players to help industry manufacturers learn about the key benefits of RTU processes and products and to better evaluate investments for transitioning to efficient filling systems and meeting their unique needs from clinical applications to widespread commercial use.
 
“RTU vials and cartridges represent a significant advancement in product quality, offering enhanced reliability and efficiency in pharmaceutical processes. This alliance allows us to highlight further how RTU solutions elevate standards across the industry, ensuring safer and more effective delivery of medications to patients worldwide,” said Franco Stevanato, CEO of Stevanato Group.
 
“The shift towards ready-to-use vials and cartridges reflects a collective industry move to advance quality and efficiency in aseptic filling processes and this alliance shows readiness by expanding capacity and thereby supporting this market trend,” added Andreas Reisse, CEO at SCHOTT Pharma. “Ready-to-use solutions can reduce complexities and better meet the stringent requirements of modern pharmaceutical production.”
 
“As an industry, we are fully prepared for the transition to RTU vials and cartridges,” remarked Lukas Burkhardt, Member of the Management Board of Gerresheimer AG. “With recent advancements, RTU processing is now a mature technology which will improve our customer’s operations in terms of efficiency, cost, and time to market.”