Swiss medical technology manufacturer Ypsomed (Burgdorf; www.ypsomed.com) intends to significantly increase its production capacities for autoinjectors in several steps by 2031. The background for this is a long-term supply contract with Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, which is also taking over a “significant part of the investment” for the additional production infrastructure, according to a statement from Switzerland. Autoinjectors are used for the administration of medication for self-treatment. 

So far, the devices – which are marketed under the brand name YpsoMate – have been produced at the two Swiss locations, Burgdorf and Solothurn, as well as in Schwerin, Germany. “As a first step, we will expand our plant in Schwerin,” a company spokesperson said in response to a Plasteurope.com enquiry.

The planning has already begun; the lead time for ordering, setting up, validating and qualifying the machinery is about two years. However, according to the spokesperson, the expansion plans also include considerations for the construction of a first plant in North America. 

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As a result of the measures – Ypsomed is currently also ramping up unit numbers at its main plant in Burgdorf – “significant capacities” should become available for Novo Nordisk over the course of 2025. In order to reduce dependencies, there are also plans to give third-party manufacturers the right to produce the autoinjectors under a licensing model. Concrete volumes, however, were not mentioned in response to the enquiry.

According to the company, the supply contract will not have a significant impact on the outlook for the current 2023/24 financial year; it is only expected to be reflected in the balance sheet beginning in the 2025/26 financial year. In 2022, Ypsomed achieved sales of CHF 497.5 mn (EUR 518 mn) and more than doubled its profit to CHF 51.3 mn. 

The company is growing because more and more types of medication are no longer swallowed but injected at home by the patients themselves. PC/ABS, PC, POM, PA, and PBT are among the materials used for the autoinjectors and the insulin pumps (YpsoPump). “We are working intensively on the use of bioplastics from renewable resources as well as on new packaging concepts to reduce the carbon footprint,” said the spokesperson.