Global packaging company Rexam is to double the size of its La Verpillière site, near Lyon, France, by the end of the year, creating an extra 2,400m2 of cleanrooms dedicated to the production of sub-sets of insulin injection pens for Eli Lilly.
Since 2008, Rexam Healthcare, a manufacturer of rigid plastic packaging and devices to protect and administer pharmaceuticals, has been the European supplier of these parts for Eli Lilly’s insulin injection pen.
Rexam completed the first extension of the site four years ago, a move which created around 50 jobs. The project represents an investment of about €15m over a three-year period.
The La Verpillière site specialises in inhalers for asthma and injection devices, which enable patients to self-administer their medicines. It also houses Rexam Healthcare’s European Technology Centre.
More than 3,000m2 of the building are reserved exclusively for the manufacture of this product
Composed of more than a dozen plastic parts and a metal spring, this new insulin injection pen for the treatment of diabetes has two sub-sets: the dose selection mechanism, and the protective cap. Eli Lilly produces the glass cartridge filled with insulin at its Fegersheim site near Strasbourg. This is also where the two sub-sets are assembled and the insulin cartridge inserted.
A fleet of robots, injection presses, marking machines plus an assembly line with ultrasound welding and packaging technology will manufacture the components of the injection pen at La Verpillière. Each phase will be controlled by a camera system.
Designed for production by multi-imprint moulds on electric injection presses, the material used for the plastic parts will be chosen by Eli Lilly.
More than 3,000m2 of the building are already reserved exclusively for the manufacture of this product. Cleanrooms complying with ISO 8 will account for 2,400m2 of the additional extension of 3,700m2.