Vetter Pharma
Encyclopedia
Vetter Pharma-Fertigung GmbH & Co. KG is a contract manufacturer that has supplied the pharmaceutical industry since 1984. The company is an independent international specialist in the aseptic filling of syringes, cartridges and vials. With an annual capacity of 400 million units, Vetter is one of the world market leaders in the field of pre-filled injection systems.
patients to self-administer. In 1996, a second German production site was established, in Langenargen, and received approval to operate by the FDA two years later. In 2004, the company started construction on a second major site in Ravensburg. Completed at the end of 2006, the Ravensburg Vetter South production facility received permission by the regional board of Tuebingen (the local government) to begin operating at the start of 2007; the FDA gave its production approval in early 2008. At the end of 2007, work began at Ravensburg Vetter South on a new facility to house secondary packaging and began operations in May 2009. At the same site, an analytical laboratory was established in the same year. Also in 2009, the company founded its sales subsidiary Vetter Pharma International GmbH, and named its U.S. sales subsidiary Vetter Pharma International USA Inc. In December 2009, the company dedicated its first U.S. manufacturing facility, located in suburban Chicago. There, Vetter supports preclinical through phase II products to fill syringes, cartridges and vials for use in clinical studies. The facility is an expansion of Vetter Development Service. Vetter employs approximately 2,400 employees and is headquartered in Ravensburg, Germany.
Vetter Pharma is listed at Critical Foreign Dependencies Initiative
(CFDI), a strategy and list, maintained by the United States Department of Homeland Security, of foreign infrastructure which "if attacked or destroyed would critically impact the U.S."
History
The company was founded in 1953 by Helmut Vetter and was originally called the “Apotheker Vetter & Co. Arzneimittel GmbH Ravensburg. In 1958, Helmut Vetter opened a pharmacy and sealed the drugs it manufactured in air- and water-tight packaging. In 1965, his growing enterprise began operating as a contract manufacturer packaging dry and liquid drugs. The company manufactured primarily contact lens solutions and eye drops. In 1975, the company turned its focus to aseptically pre-filled syringes. Vetter founded its first foreign subsidiary in the United States in 1983, Vetter Pharma Turm Inc. (Yardley, Pennsylvania), to handle sales in the United States and Canada. The following year, the company was renamed Vetter Pharma-Fertigung GmbH & Co. KG. In 1988, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Vetter’s Ravensburg facility approval to operate, which opened the U.S. market. Two years later, the company invented the dual-chamber syringe, which remains a patented product. Freeze-dried (lyophilized) drug resides in one chamber; liquid in the other. Pushing the plunger mixes the two, reconstituting the drug. The technology prolongs shelf-life, facilitates accurate dosing, and enablespatients to self-administer. In 1996, a second German production site was established, in Langenargen, and received approval to operate by the FDA two years later. In 2004, the company started construction on a second major site in Ravensburg. Completed at the end of 2006, the Ravensburg Vetter South production facility received permission by the regional board of Tuebingen (the local government) to begin operating at the start of 2007; the FDA gave its production approval in early 2008. At the end of 2007, work began at Ravensburg Vetter South on a new facility to house secondary packaging and began operations in May 2009. At the same site, an analytical laboratory was established in the same year. Also in 2009, the company founded its sales subsidiary Vetter Pharma International GmbH, and named its U.S. sales subsidiary Vetter Pharma International USA Inc. In December 2009, the company dedicated its first U.S. manufacturing facility, located in suburban Chicago. There, Vetter supports preclinical through phase II products to fill syringes, cartridges and vials for use in clinical studies. The facility is an expansion of Vetter Development Service. Vetter employs approximately 2,400 employees and is headquartered in Ravensburg, Germany.
Importance for the U.S.
In the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Vetter Pharma is listed at Critical Foreign Dependencies Initiative
Critical Foreign Dependencies Initiative
The Critical Foreign Dependencies Initiative is a strategy and list, maintained by the United States Department of Homeland Security, of foreign infrastructure which "if attacked or destroyed would critically impact the U.S." A copy of the 2008 list was redacted and leaked by WikiLeaks on 5...
(CFDI), a strategy and list, maintained by the United States Department of Homeland Security, of foreign infrastructure which "if attacked or destroyed would critically impact the U.S."