Why is there a shortage of medicinal glass bottles?

There is a shortage of medicinal glass bottles, and raw materials have risen by nearly 20%

With the launch of global new crown vaccination, the global demand for vaccine glass bottles has surged, and the price of raw materials used to manufacture glass bottles has also skyrocketed. The production of vaccine glass bottles has become a “stuck neck” problem of whether the vaccine can smoothly flow to the terminal audience.

In the past few days, in a pharmaceutical glass bottle manufacturer, every production workshop is working overtime. However, the person in charge of the factory is not happy, that is, the raw materials for the production of medicinal glass bottles are running out of stock. And this kind of material required for the production of high-end medicinal glass bottles: medium borosilicate glass tube, which is very difficult to buy recently. After placing the order, it will take about half a year to receive the goods. Not only that, the price of medium borosilicate glass tubes has been rising again and again, about 15%-20%, and the current price is about 26,000 yuan per ton. Upstream suppliers of mid-borosilicate glass tubes were also affected, and orders increased significantly, and even some manufacturers’ orders exceeded 10 times.

Another pharmaceutical glass bottle company also encountered a shortage of production raw materials. The person in charge of the production company of this company said that not only the full price of borosilicate glass tubes for medicinal use is now purchased, but the full price must be paid at least half a year in advance. Manufacturers of borosilicate glass tubes for pharmaceutical use, otherwise, it will be difficult to obtain raw materials within half a year.

Why must the new crown vaccine bottle be made of borosilicate glass?

Pharmaceutical glass bottles are the preferred packaging for vaccines, blood, biological preparations, etc., and can be divided into molded bottles and tube bottles in terms of processing methods. Molded bottle refers to the use of molds to make liquid glass into medicine bottles, and tube bottle refers to the use of flame processing molding equipment to make glass tubes into medical packaging bottles of a certain shape and volume. The leader in the segmented field of molded bottles, with a market share of 80% for molded bottles

From the perspective of material and performance, medicinal glass bottles can be divided into borosilicate glass and soda lime glass. Soda-lime glass is easily broken by impact, and cannot withstand severe temperature changes; while borosilicate glass can withstand a large temperature difference. Therefore, borosilicate glass is mainly used for the packaging of injection drugs.
Borosilicate glass can be divided into low borosilicate glass, medium borosilicate glass and high borosilicate glass. The main measure of the quality of medicinal glass is water resistance: the higher the water resistance, the less risk of a reaction with the drug, and the higher the quality of the glass. Compared with medium and high borosilicate glass, low borosilicate glass has low chemical stability. When packaging medicines with high pH value, the alkaline substances in the glass are easily precipitated, which affects the quality of medicines. In mature markets such as the United States and Europe, it is mandatory that all injectable preparations and biological preparations must be packaged in borosilicate glass.

If it is an ordinary vaccine, it can be packaged in low borosilicate glass, but the new crown vaccine is unusual and must be packaged in medium borosilicate glass. The new crown vaccine mainly uses medium borosilicate glass, not low borosilicate glass. However, considering the limited production capacity of borosilicate glass bottles, low borosilicate glass may be used instead when the production capacity of borosilicate glass bottles is insufficient.

Neutral borosilicate glass is internationally recognized as a better pharmaceutical packaging material due to its small expansion coefficient, high mechanical strength, and good chemical stability. Medicinal borosilicate glass tube is a necessary raw material for the manufacture of borosilicate glass ampoule, controlled injection bottle, controlled oral liquid bottle and other medicinal containers. The medicinal borosilicate glass tube is equivalent to the meltblown cloth in the mask. There are very strict requirements on its appearance, cracks, bubble lines, stones, nodules, linear thermal expansion coefficient, boron trioxide content, tube wall thickness, straightness and dimensional deviation, etc., and must obtain the “Chinese medicine package word” Approval.

Why is there a shortage of borosilicate glass tubes for medicinal purposes?

Medium borosilicate glass requires high investment and high precision. To manufacture a high-quality glass tube requires not only excellent material technology, but also precise production equipment, quality control system, etc., which is a consideration for the comprehensive manufacturing capacity of the enterprise. . Enterprises must be patient and persistent, and persevere to make breakthroughs in key areas.
Overcoming technical barriers, developing borosilicate pharmaceutical packaging, improving the quality and safety of injections, and protecting and promoting public health are the original aspiration and mission of every medical person.