West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE: WST), a global leader in innovative solutions for injectable drug administration, has officially opened the Company’s recently expanded Kiefernweg Campus in Eschweiler, Germany, which includes a new global center of excellence for the research and development of pharmaceutical packaging components and systems for injectable medicines.
The new 6,500 square meter campus includes two new office buildings, the original Kiefernweg office, and an Innovation & Technology center of excellence, which was created to consolidate and align West’s global R&D offices that previously operated in several different sites across Germany. This expansion will enable West to meet the growing demand for high-quality injectable drug packaging and delivery systems from pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies operating in Europe and around the world.
“This is an exciting time in the biopharmaceutical industry with new, innovative therapies being introduced to the market that address significant unmet medical needs,” said Reinhard Waeben, Vice President, Packaging Components, R&D at West. “Yet it is also a time of great challenge, with increasing demands on drug manufacturers to ensure both the quality and speed with which those products are delivered to patients. We will be working within our Innovation & Technology center to bring forward the latest advancements in primary packaging for injectable medicines to help address these customer challenges.”
The Kiefernweg campus currently employs approximately 185 people in a number of global functions, including: product development, engineering, manufacturing, quality, supply chain, procurement, sales, marketing, customer service, IT, Human Resources and other administrative functions. West also maintains two manufacturing plants nearby in Eschweiler and Stolberg, which are part of the Company’s global manufacturing network.
“With our state-of-the-art Innovation & Technology center here at Kiefernweg, and two global manufacturing plants close by in Eschweiler and Stolberg, West is well positioned to provide our customers with cutting-edge containment and delivery solutions for the future that can be scaled up quickly and efficiently,” said Heino Lennartz, Managing Director at West in Germany.
West is also a long-time supporter of the local community in which it operates. As part of the ribbon-cutting ceremony, West presented two local non-profit organizations with donations, on top of local employee-raised contributions that were collected as part of the Company’s grassroots employee giving program. One of the organizations, Fortschritt Staedteregion Aachen e. V., provides conductive therapy for children and young adults with conditions that affect motor function, such as multiple sclerosis, strokes and Parkinson’s disease. The other organization, Zwischen Uns e. V., offers a place of employment to young adults with mental and physical disabilities. Both organizations have been the recipient of West employee donations and volunteer time for the past several years.
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