West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc., a global provider of injectable drug administration, officially opened its new Waterford, Ireland facility, a global center of excellence for the company's advanced manufacturing network, and the launch of a new product line—Westar® Select.
Customers and senior-level Irish government officials joined West at a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the facility's opening and to recognize West's ongoing commitment to improving patient lives through their products and services.
“West is very pleased to celebrate the official opening of our state-of-the-art facility in Waterford, as well as the launch of Westar Select, both of which are the culmination of efforts by many to support our company's commitment to meeting the dynamic needs of our pharmaceutical and biotech partners,” says Eric Green, President and CEO, West. “Our investment in Waterford, in addition to our previously announced investments in Kinston, N.C., Jurong, Singapore, and Dublin, Ireland, enable West to provide the highest levels of quality across the products and services we provide for the global customer base we serve.”
The new, 20,500 sq-m facility, situated on a 44-acre campus, will produce West's proprietary elastomeric laminate sheeting, which is used to package insulin for use in pen injectors. Additionally, it will offer high-value finishing for components, including stoppers and plungers, produced at other West facilities around the world. These services, designed to mitigate the risk of potential contamination and compatibility issues with packaging components, include pharmaceutical washing (Westar® RS components), Envision® verification, steam sterilization (Westar® RU components), and flexible packaging offerings.
The Waterford site will also be among the first in West's global manufacturing network to produce Westar Select, the latest in West's Westar® quality enhancement offering. In addition to a tighter particulate specification, Westar Select will be made available through an optimized global manufacturing network with multi-site production capabilities to ensure a continuous supply chain, while helping to reduce regulatory complexity for customers.
West's Waterford facility currently employs approximately 100 people in both local and global functions, with plans for additional hiring. Commercial production in Waterford is expected this year.
