Domestic neutral borosilicate glass has huge potential space for upgrading, but there are still several problems to be solved

Packaging plays a very important role in the whole process of production, storage, transportation, circulation and use of medicines
.
In recent years, with the continuous expansion of the drug market and stricter industry supervision, the quality and safety of drugs has attracted more and more attention
.
Under the epidemic, as an important part of vaccine production, medicinal glass has also become a hot topic
.
Domestic neutral borosilicate glass has a huge potential space for upgrading, but there are still several major problems to be solved (Photo source: Pharmaceutical Network) In the field of medicine, the glass bottles used can be divided into three categories, namely soda lime glass, low borosilicate glass Glass and neutral borosilicate glass
.
Among them, neutral borosilicate glass is more chemically stable and safer than the first two glasses, and it is not easy to cause chemical pollution with the liquid medicine.
It is an internationally recognized safe pharmaceutical packaging material and a commonly used vaccine packaging material in the world
.
However, compared with low borosilicate glass and soda lime glass, the technical threshold of neutral borosilicate glass is also higher.
In the production process, it is necessary to face the difficulty of discharging bubbles during the melting process, easy to produce nodules, short molding time, and dimensional accuracy.
Requires advanced technical problems
.
In the past, China's medicinal glass was mainly low borosilicate glass and soda lime glass, while neutral borosilicate glass mainly relied on imported manufacturers such as Schott from Germany, Corning from the United States, and NEG from Japan
.
With the advancement of the "Healthy China 2030" strategy and the consistency evaluation, review and approval system, the quality and safety requirements of China's pharmaceutical packaging will also continue to increase.
With the upgrade of neutral borosilicate glass, the demand for neutral borosilicate glass by domestic pharmaceutical companies will continue to expand in the future
.
In an interview with Pharmaceutical Network, SCHOTT Glass predicted that in the next 5-10 years, 30%-40% of China's 300,000 tons of medicinal glass will be upgraded from low borosilicate glass to neutral borosilicate glass
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In the face of considerable potential space for upgrading, more and more domestic enterprises have joined the neutral borosilicate glass industry, and the entire pharmaceutical packaging industry has shown a thriving scene
.
Nowadays, domestic enterprises have gradually achieved breakthroughs in the production technology of neutral borosilicate glass tubes.
For example, Cangzhou Four Star, Shandong Pharmaceutical Glass, Zhengchuan Co.
, Ltd.
, Shandong Huapeng, Linuo Te Glass and other enterprises have all achieved neutral borosilicate glass.
The production of glass facilitates the localized supply of key materials for high-end medical glass, solves the long-standing monopoly "stuck neck" problem, and domestic neutral borosilicate glass goes overseas
.
It is worth mentioning that the development of the domestic neutral borosilicate glass industry still faces several major challenges, including challenges in market promotion, innovation, and cost
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First, in terms of market promotion, due to the late start of domestic neutral borosilicate glass, the market is mainly dominated by imported products, and it will take some time for domestic neutral borosilicate glass to be accepted and recognized by users in the market
.
At the same time, at this stage, many domestic pharmaceutical neutral borosilicate glass bottle manufacturers are conducting related review and approval work with pharmaceutical companies, and the related drug consistency evaluation and related review and approval processes are generally long, and the cycle takes half a year.
above
.
Second, in terms of innovation, pharmaceutical packaging is related to drug quality, and will face challenges in product innovation, technological innovation and concept innovation in the future, requiring continuous R&D investment
.
The industry predicts that green products and technologies that save energy and reduce emissions will be the innovative direction of the packaging industry in the future
.
Third, in terms of cost, the price of raw materials for pharmaceutical packaging has been rising in recent years.
In addition, the core equipment is limited by people, and the cost of production enterprises is generally relatively high
.
At the same time, the price reduction trend brought about by the normalization of centralized procurement is also a major pressure for enterprises
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In this regard, some industry insiders suggested that the medical insurance packaging industry needs to continue to innovate, increase investment in research and development, promote the application of energy-saving and consumption-reducing technologies, continuously reduce energy consumption and costs, and increase production
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At the same time, it is necessary to break through the shortcomings of China's key raw materials and core equipment.
"Only the realization of independent control will ensure the continuous and stable supply of the pharmaceutical industry chain
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" Disclaimer: In any case, the information or expressions in this article opinions, and do not constitute investment advice to anyone
.