SCA Pharmaceuticals officially opened a new manufacturing facility in Windsor, Connecticut, on 27 November 2017.

The new plant will produce sterile admixtures and pre-filled syringes for healthcare facilities. It is expected to increase turnaround times for SCA, provide economies of production and improve customer experiences.

SCA is expected to add more than 360 new jobs by 2021 at the Windsor facility.

Location details

SCA chose Connecticut as the location for its new plant due to the availability of a world-class workforce.

In addition, the location is in close proximity to Bradley International Airport, which will enable the company to deliver products to customers quickly and easily. It will also enable SCA to serve its east coast clients.

SCA Pharmaceuticals’ new facility details

SCA has developed the new 90,000ft² facility in a leased site located at 755 Rainbow Road, Windsor.

It includes a good laboratory practice (GLP) analytical chemistry lab, current good manufacturing practice (cGMP) cleanrooms, a high-capacity aseptic production suite, office spaces and quality control laboratories.

The state-of-the-art facility is also equipped with multiple ISO 5 Laminar Air Flow Hoods, which enable sterile compounding operations. A backup generator is installed to ensure continuous production in case of power failure.

Cleanrooms at the new facility are operated by professional compounding staff and certified pharmacy technicians, who have hands-on-experience in high-risk sterile compounding.

The quality control unit of the facility ensures quality and training compliance for all cleanroom personnel. It is also responsible for annual aseptic recertification and carrying out regular quality audits.

Products manufactured at SCA’s plant

SCA provides a range of sterile admixture services including antibiotics and anti-infective medicines such as Vancomycin and cardiovascular medicines such as Adenosine, Ephedrine, Heparin, Isoproterenol and Phenylephrine.

Labour and delivery medications such as epidurals, ephedrine, lidocaine, magnesium and oxytocin are also supplied in addition to sedatives such as ketamine and midazolam. Pain management drugs such as bupivacaine, fentanyl, morphine and ropivacaine are also supplied, as well as electrolytes such as calcium gluconate and potassium.

A ready-to-use operating room and anaesthesia syringes are available, which are bar-coded and tamper-proof.

In addition, SCA provides multiple varieties of standard and speciality containers including Hospira LifeCare bags and Viaflex bags, Smiths medical CADD cassettes, Coviden Monoject syringes and plungerless syringe barrels.

Financing

The Connecticut State Government supported the project by providing more than $8.5m through the Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) for leasehold improvement and procurement of new equipment.

SCA received equity capital of more than $700m from Enhanced Healthcare Partners in October 2017 for the project.

Marketing commentary on SCA Pharmaceuticals

Headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas, SCA Pharmaceuticals was founded in 2010. It currently employs 210 team members at its Arkansas facility.

The company provides sterile pharmaceuticals to pharmacies in hospitals and surgery centres and is licensed by State Boards of Pharmacy in 50 states across the US. Its product portfolio includes patient-controlled analgesia (PCA), anaesthesia syringes, epidurals, and intravenous (IV) admixtures.

All the sterile products of SCA undergo environmental monitoring and full endotoxin testing that adhere to USP <85> guidelines. Outsourcing of products with SCA helps its customers to reduce product wastage, drug shortages, and staffing costs.