Meeting demand as a busy 503B pharmacy
Our customer, a nationally recognized 503B outsourcing compounding pharmacy facility, serves customers across the U.S. Demand for compounded pharmaceutical products has risen as the U.S. healthcare industry has grown. Our customer’s order volume significantly increased throughout 2020 and 2021, and it soon became necessary for them to optimize their operations. To meet their growing demand, our customer needed to decrease the time spent filling orders.
DiNovo works with pharmacy customers to find solutions
Our customer’s initial plan was to add another vial filling line or hire additional staff. However, hiring new technicians or adding another fill line is costly. We evaluated their operations and came up with an innovative, low-cost solution.
The standard method of filling vials with viscous fluid uses closed vials. Our customer was using a closed-vial system that involved de-crimping, filling, and re-crimping. We evaluated their system and recommended using sterile open vials (SEV) instead. The SEV system eliminates the de-crimping step, as the vials are already open, and the drug can be injected directly.
New workflow reduces drug-filling time by one-third
Our customer will see quantifiable time savings with the new system. De-crimping represents one-third of the workflow, so removing the step decreases the time spent filling vials by 33%. With decreased production time, our customer can fill orders faster and meet their growing demand.
DiNovo helps customers purchase the right amount of vials
In sterile compounding pharmacies, the two most common sterile vials are open and closed vial systems. Open vials are more commonly used in operations that require a higher volume of production. Tray sizes range from 248 vials per tray to 30 vials per tray for larger vials.
However, many pharmacies do not need the entire pack of vials. If pharmacies purchase an entire tray but can’t use the vials before they expire, they must throw away the expired vials. This is both costly and wasteful. Closed system vials typically have 25 vials per tray with smaller vials having the option of 25 per tray or up to 100 per tray. Purchasing a 25-vial tray is more cost effective and convenient for smaller pharmacies that do not need to mass produce their batches.
Depending on the product that the vial is being filled with, an amber glass vial that provides UV protection may be required. Both the open vial trays and closed vial trays are available in clear or amber vials.
A trusted partner in pharmacy packaging and provisions
At DiNovo, we are constantly striving to find solutions for our customers. Optimizing production time and streamlining workflow is just one of our areas of expertise. As the hospital, pharmaceutical and healthcare market continues to grow, so will the need for specialty compounded drugs. We work with customers to provide innovative and low-cost pharmaceutical supplies and shipping solutions.
