SP doubles global manufacturing capacity for fill-finish and freeze dryers to meet increasing demand

Inside SP’s new large-scale manufacturing facility in Barcelona, Spain, opened to increase capacity for SP i-Dositecno sterile fill-finish systems.

SP Barcelona new and old facilities exterior

SP Scientific Products (SP) announces that to stay ahead of the ever-increasing global demand for its state-of-the-art fill-finish and lyophilization (freeze dryer) equipment, it has more than doubled its worldwide manufacturing capacity. Central to this expansion is the opening of a new large-scale manufacturing facility in Barcelona, Spain, for SP i-Dositecno sterile fill-finish systems. SP is also increasing its manufacturing headcount and streamlining many of its manufacturing processes. These strategic advancements are already ensuring reduced order-to-delivery lead times for its advanced aseptic pharmaceutical processing equipment.

SP i-Dositecno fill-finish systems are designed and manufactured in Barcelona as part of SP’s complete sterile handling solution, from bulk API to filled product. The new 4000m2 facility in Barcelona has been built alongside its original factory, delivering a 100% increase in manufacturing space. Systems are already being built at the new facility and include SP’s modular sterile filling, stoppering and capping machines, such as its SP i-Dositecno Versa-Lines, Micro-Lines, Flexi-Lines and Ophtha-Lines. These are ideal for the lower-volume requirements of the growing number of biologic drugs for smaller patient groups - a key factor in the increased demand for SP’s highly configurable fill-finish and lyophilization equipment.

SP’s global capacity expansion is also being facilitated by the reengineering of manufacturing at many of its other sites worldwide. At the SP Warminster, PA facility, streamlined manufacturing processes have been adopted to reduce build time whilst importantly maintaining build quality of SP’s freeze dryers and fill-finish equipment. Such developments have enabled SP to recently deliver the world’s largest installation of commercial freeze dryers for SARS-CoV-2 diagnostics production in just four months. To further reduce lead times, SP is significantly building its global manufacturing workforce with the recruitment of quality and electrical engineers, project managers and production staff, as well as field service engineers to install and maintain the many new SP systems.

“Our highly flexible fill-finish and lyophilization modules mean that we can deliver a complete system engineered for specific customer needs in a matter of weeks, even for our most complex units, whilst remaining cost competitive,” said Brian Larkin, President and Chief Executive Officer, SP Industries. “It’s why SP is increasingly seen by pharma and diagnostic companies as a go-to provider, particularly for small batch manufacturing systems. We’re continuing to make these major investments in capacity, such as the opening of our new SP Barcelona facility, to ensure that we can continue driving down lead times, even as we deliver an increasing number of units. This in turn enables our customers to get their products to market sooner.”

The SP i-Dositecno systems offer filling, stoppering, and capping machines designed with dependable sterility, accuracy and speed essential for the pharmaceutical sectors, whilst also meeting highest quality and accuracy expectations of GMP and FDA regulations. To cover the complete range of aseptic processing tools and techniques, these systems dovetail with the broadest lyophilization range available within a suite of configurable SP Hull and SP VirTis equipment. All individual modules are designed to provide fully integrated fill-finish line solutions, or units can be purchased separately.