Fresenius Kabi Opens New Pharmaceutical Compounding Centre in Mississauga, Ontario

Using advanced manufacturing technology and quality standards,
centre to serve hospitals across Canada

TORONTO, Oct. 11, 2018 /CNW/ - Fresenius Kabi announced today it has opened a new pharmaceutical compounding centre in Mississauga, Ontario.  The centre features state-of-the-art manufacturing technology and processes designed to meet rigorous quality standards and increased capacity needs of customers.  The facility produces compounded pharmaceuticals for Canadian hospitals.

The new Fresenius Kabi centre is the result of several years of planning and refinement and an 11 million dollar (CAD) investment.  It is expected to employ 70 people by 2022, and has the capacity needed to expand to accommodate growth.  The opening doubles the company's work force in Mississauga.

Fresenius Kabi is a global health care company that specializes in lifesaving medicines and technologies for infusion, transfusion and clinical nutrition.  Headquartered in Germany, Fresenius Kabi has been operating in Canada for more than 20 years.  Fresenius Kabi is a leading supplier of IV generic medications for Canadian hospitals and has compounded millions of doses for patients through its homecare division. The new facility showcases Fresenius Kabi's continued commitment to patient care, expanding its compounding operations from homecare services to an increased focus on serving patients in hospitals.

"We're delighted to announce the opening of this advanced new compounding centre and to continue to expand our leadership and innovation in the compounding sector in Canada," said Fresenius Kabi Canada C.E.O., Matthew Rotenberg.  "We've been honing our skills and expertise for more than 20 years here, and our commitment to patient safety, quality and drive for continuous improvement distinguishes us in this area of care."

New national guidelines for sterile pharmaceutical compounding come into effect for Ontario in January 2019.  Hospital pharmacies across the province ? and later all of Canada - will be required to incorporate updates and improvements to their practice, at a significant cost in most cases. Hospitals that do not have the funds or the infrastructure to update their facilities and processes are expected to look for other options for their compounded medications.

The new Fresenius Kabi compounding facility was designed to address a historical gap in regulation for the compounding industry in Canada, offering hospitals across the country the opportunity to meet forthcoming standards without compromising patient care. 

"This facility was developed to meet the need for higher compounding standards in Canada," said Ryan Ungemach, director of Compounding for Fresenius Kabi in Canada.  "This is why we hold ourselves to GMP standards where possible, akin to our pharmaceutical manufacturing operations around the world."

This facility allows Fresenius Kabi to continue working with hospitals, providing them with high-quality compounded products for patients, in accordance with the new standards. The compounding centre is the first-of-its-kind, designed to produce a high volume of the most common doses of ready-to-administer IV medications in a manufacturing-type environment and allow hospital staff to focus their time and efforts on patient needs.

"With the new NAPRA guidelines and Accreditation Canada recommendations for sterile compounding, hospital pharmacies will need to find ways to meet these higher standards of care," said Anna Lee, Director of Pharmacy Outpatient Operations and Corporate Business at the University Health Network, one of Toronto's leading acute care networks. "Through this new compounding facility, Fresenius Kabi is illustrating its ongoing commitment to bringing the highest standards to the Central IV Additive programs, providing a broad selection of products and meeting the needs of our institution."

Building on Fresenius Kabi's global expertise, the new Mississauga facility features advanced manufacturing technology from Europe, including a decontamination process that is significantly more effective than the traditional multi-step manual wiping process of starting materials still used in compounding centres in Canada today. Until now, this type of technology has only been seen in pharmaceutical manufacturing plants. Several additional technological advancements have been implemented, including process automation, paperless systems and advanced cleanroom design. To deliver a final product under sterile conditions, the facility utilizes a rigorous environmental monitoring program which constantly surveys dozens of parameters, ensuring that both the cleanroom and the technicians within it operate in a highly controlled manner. 

"To meet growing demand for compounded products, most providers simply build more space for more hoods and more technicians using the same manual processes. We recognize the need to improve as an industry, and we've done this by introducing more automation, more technology, and reducing manual manipulations throughout the process," Ungemach said. "With this new centre, Fresenius Kabi has improved the compounding process, and that's what really makes this unique."

About Fresenius Kabi

Fresenius Kabi (www.fresenius-kabi.ca) is a global health care company that specializes in lifesaving medicines and technologies for infusion, transfusion and clinical nutrition. The company's products and services are used to help care for critically and chronically ill patients. The company's Canadian headquarters is in Toronto, Canada. The company's global headquarters is in Bad Homburg, Germany.

SOURCE Fresenius Kabi Canada Inc.