Pfizer’s Freiburg site, used by Pfizer CentreSource for contract manufacturing was named ISPE Facility of the Year in the Sustainability category for 2011. Susan Birks visited this flagship plant in Germany to find out how it fits into the CMO’s growing service portfolio.
Pfizer is no stranger to International Society of Pharmaceutical Engineers (ISPE) accolades. In October 2008, the NewCon facility at Illertissen, Germany was voted overall winner of the Facility of the Year Award (FOYA) for its high level of automation and lean techniques. The plant has expert competence in occupational exposure band (OEB) 4/5 manufacturing and incorporated numerous best practice innovations.
The FOYA sustainability award for the Freiburg plant in 2011 is indicative of excellence in reducing the carbon footprint and the environmental impact of operations while maintaining the same dedication to lean operating techniques. This is especially difficult for companies with constrained, high energy processes, such as high potency drug manufacture, and even more so when trying to maintain a very flexible operation, as is required for today’s contract manufacturing market.