Eitan Medical, a manufacturing company focused on advanced infusion therapy and drug delivery solutions, recently announced the opening of a new manufacturing facility at the company’s headquarters. Eitan said that having the facility onsite will grant the company control over all processes, helping facilitate quality assurance for its pharma partners.

“On-site manufacturing facilities enable us to maintain full oversight of production,” Greg Moakes, EVP of business development for Eitan, told MD+DI. “We are in control of the quality of every device that passes through our production lines. Moreover, keeping production in-house means that our R&D, engineering, and mass production teams are all kept in close proximity, enabling close collaboration in the discussion and development process from initial conception of a new idea through to final production. We can rapidly implement new innovations and features directly into our manufacturing lines with minimal delays.”

The new facility spans 410 sq. meters (4413 sq. ft.) with two ISO-7 clean rooms, 50 sq. meters (538 sq. ft.) of supporting areas, and two semi-automated production lines that incorporate both fully and semi-automated technologies and processes. Included in the two semi-automated production lines are ultrasonic machines, duckbill dispensing robots, high-end pressure and leakage testers, heat staking stations with automated vision control, and functional testers with high resolution needle vision inspection and needle lubrication. Additionally, the facility features manual production lines to help with increased demand from Eitan customers while allowing for multiple product and customer lines to be manufactured simultaneously.

“Having two cleanrooms with a capacity to house up to 90 employees (45/cleanroom) working on different products simultaneously is really exciting,” he said.

Manufactured at the facility will be the Sorrel Wearable drug delivery platform across multiple device configurations, including Sorrel vial- and cartridge-based wearable injectors, pre-filled and pre-loaded in primary containers up to 50 ml, as well as small volume on-body injectors. The increased production capacity for the Sorrel devices, according to the company, will support its pharmaceutical partners when working on “feasibility projects, joint development, and clinical studies, as well as commercial implementation.”

“We are ramping up production and working closely with our pharma partners to configure our Sorrel wearable drug delivery devices for specific biologic drugs,” Moakes said. “Simply having this level of capacity means we can comfortably meet the development, production and quality assurance needs to deliver for each of our partners. This means we should see Sorrel out in the market this year, helping patients better manage their conditions with an easy-to-use device that provides them maximum flexibility to continue with their daily routines.”

Eitan partnered with Germany-based Teamtechnik, a company specializing in developing and building special-purpose automation equipment, to support the company from concept and design through set-up and validation onsite.

“Teamtechnik was instrumental in helping us define, design and build out the new semi-automated production capabilities in the new facility,” he told MD+DI. “They are true experts in the field of systems automation, and have been alongside us, providing support during set-up and validation on-site at our headquarters.”