Localising high-end pharmaceutical packaging in India offers profound advantages

With the increasing number of biologics being launched, the importance of glass packaging at the primary level increases dramatically. Tell us about SCHOTT Glass India’s existing product range for biologic therapies.

India is witnessing a growing trend of biologics and biosimilars launches, especially in therapeutic areas such as cancer, autoimmune disorders, and diabetes. These therapies are highly sensitive and require packaging solutions that ensure long-term stability and safety. Glass packaging, particularly borosilicate glass, plays a critical role due to its inert, non-porous nature and chemical stability, offering a strong barrier against moisture, oxygen, and light.

At SCHOTT Glass India, our flagship FIOLAX® Type I borosilicate glass including FIOLAX® clear and FIOLAX® amber is widely used for vials and ampoules. FIOLAX® Amber is especially suitable for light-sensitive biologics such as antibiotics and chemotherapeutics.

In 2023, we commenced domestic production of FIOLAX® amber tubing at our Jambusar facility in Gujarat. Looking ahead, we are preparing for local manufacturing of syringe and cartridge tubing for prefilled biologics delivery systems. This expansion reinforces SCHOTT’s position as Asia’s largest producer in this space and solidifies our commitment to being a full-spectrum supplier for primary pharmaceutical packaging.

 

What is the advantage of making such high-end packaging in India, from a cost as well as supply chain resilience perspective?

Localising high-end pharmaceutical packaging in India offers profound advantages. For supply chain resilience, it dramatically curtails lead times, eliminates dependency on imports and mitigates geopolitical risks. This provides unparalleled planning reliability and flexibility for Indian and Asian pharmaceutical markets, ensuring an agile, dependable supply of critical components.

From a cost perspective, while initial investment is substantial, local production reduces logistics overheads, import duties, and currency fluctuation exposure, fostering a more competitive and predictable pricing structure. Crucially, it aligns with the ‘Make in India’ vision—supporting India’s ambitions to become a global pharma hub, strengthening the local ecosystem. Our Jambusar facility exemplifies this model, now housing over 400 employees and becoming the second-largest SCHOTT pharmaceutical tubing site globally.

 

How is SCHOTT Glass India preparing to meet the growing demand from the biologics pipeline in India and globally? Are there any new product lines or capabilities being introduced?

The accelerated growth of biologics globally and in India has created a heightened demand for precision-engineered, high-quality glass packaging. At SCHOTT, we are proactively scaling up our infrastructure and technological capabilities to address this demand.

A major milestone was the commissioning of our FIOLAX® amber glass tank in 2023, which significantly enhanced our production capabilities. Additionally, by 2025, we are set to launch syringe and cartridge tubing production at our Jambusar plant — the second-largest pharmaceutical tubing site in the SCHOTT group globally. This will strengthen our ability to supply critical components for self-administered biologics like insulin, monoclonal antibodies, and more.

Our advancements are supported by direct German technology transfer and backed by online inspection tools like SCHOTT perfeXion®, which ensures 100% quality control. These initiatives not only improve output quality and consistency but also build supply chain resilience across India and the broader Asian market.

 

The anti-obesity market is seeing a huge uptick, given recent high-profile launches. Most GLP-1 therapies are presented as self-administered shots, adding to the demand for many of SCHOTT Glass India’s products. Which are the products that will see an increased demand and by how much?

Industry analysts forecast a 33% CAGR for the GLP-1 segment globally, and a parallel uptick in demand for pre-filled delivery systems is expected. 75% of these highly effective GLP-1 therapies are injectables, often delivered via pre-filled pens designed for patient self-administration at home (e.g., weekly subcutaneous injections). While oral forms exist (like Rybelsus), the dominant and most impactful products in terms of market growth are the injectables. 

This creates a substantial increase in demand for our high-quality FIOLAX® Type I borosilicate glass tubing, specifically for both syringe and cartridge applications. The precision and consistent inner diameter of this glass tubing is critical for consistent drug delivery, plunger tightness, and patient safety during self-injection, making it indispensable for these therapies.

With SCHOTT India’s local production of this tubing, SCHOTT is primed to support this surge.

 

What are the patient safety features of SCHOTT’s products for critical biologics? What are the differentiating factors from other such manufacturers?

Patient safety is the absolute bedrock of SCHOTT’s product philosophy, forming the core of our design and manufacturing processes. 

Our differentiating factors, which set us apart from other manufacturers, stem from an unparalleled combination of advanced material science, cutting-edge automation, and unwavering global quality assurance, all meticulously engineered to enhance patient safety.

FIOLAX® Type I Borosilicate Glass: Our FIOLAX® Type I borosilicate glass is meticulously engineered to minimise drug-container interaction. This is paramount for patient safety as it virtually reduces the risk of delamination and ion leaching, which could compromise the sensitive biologic. This ensures the patient receives the medication in its intended, pure, and stable form, free from harmful particulates or chemical alterations that could impact efficacy or safety.

perfeXion® Process: In pharmaceuticals, every microgram counts. SCHOTT’s FIOLAX® glass tubing, enhanced by the perfeXion® quality process, ensures precise geometry and 100% inspection of every tube. This guarantees unmatched dimensional accuracy and flawless cosmetic quality, critical for safe and effective drug delivery. Whether used in vials, ampoules, syringes, or cartridges, this high-quality Type I borosilicate glass tubing minimises the risk of dosing errors and safeguards container integrity. By eliminating defects such as airlines and wall thickness variations, FIOLAX® supports consistent dosing and sterility—critical for sensitive biologics like GLP- 1 and injectable therapies.

FIOLAX® Amber:. For light-sensitive biologics, including critical chemotherapeutics and certain antibiotics, our FIOLAX® Amber borosilicate tubing offers highly effective UV protection. This tubing helps to secure the long-term stability of light-sensitive drugs. The stable tubing composition ensures consistent amber color and light protection safeguarding the drug’s molecular integrity. This prevents drug degradation that could lead to reduced therapeutic effect or the formation of harmful byproducts.

Global Consistency:. Through direct German technology transfer and rigorously standardised processes, we deliver identical, uncompromised quality across all our manufacturing sites globally. This global consistency means that regardless of where the tubing is manufactured, the container manufacturers can be confident of a uniform and consistent tubing quality. This indirectly eliminates regional variations in container quality that could impact patient well-being.

 

Glass packaging ends up creating a lot of biohazardous waste which ends up in landfills. What is SCHOTT Glass India doing to spread awareness and act on the circularity and sustainability front?

Sustainability is a foundational pillar of SCHOTT’s global strategy and a key focus for our operations in India. Our approach is comprehensive and future-oriented:

Optimising Production Efficiency: We rigorously minimise energy use, raw materials, and waste through state-of-the-art manufacturing technologies and smart automation. Our Jambusar plant follows high environmental standards and SCHOTT has also earned a Gold sustainability rating from EcoVadis.

Sustainability Initiatives : To reduce energy use, costs, and emissions, SCHOTT Glass India Pvt. Ltd. is certified with EnMS50001. Various goals and measures are taken to achieve sustainability targets.

Carbon Neutral Initiatives : Every six years, SCHOTT reviews whether its most important goals are still up-to-date as part of its strategic planning. Climate protection and sustainability will remain a clear part of SCHOTT’s strategy in the future. We’re increasing our use of renewable energy and driving energy efficiency in every plant. This is part of our global effort to reduce our environmental footprint and support a greener future.

Ultimately, our effort is to provide the most sustainable and safe primary packaging solution available—balancing patient safety, product performance, and environmental responsibility.