Sustainability is multi-faceted. Beyond direct environmental impacts such as carbon emissions from manufacturing, a company’s sustainable practices should also account for indirect impacts across the entire product lifecycle. For a Contract Development and Manufacturing Organisation (CDMO), a sustainability strategy should consider every stage of operations, spanning sourcing, development, and manufacturing, through to the emissions of the finished products and end-of-life disposal.
Beyond environmental considerations, a company’s impact can also extend to the way the company and its activities affect its workforce and its local communities. Bespak® – a specialist inhalation CDMO – is combining its expert focus on inhaled and nasal drug-device products with a dedication to true sustainability that is embedded in its DNA. Bespak’s mission is to enable the inhalation industry’s ‘green transition’, and with this aim, Bespak is working to go above and beyond, considering its operations and products holistically to help forge a greener future.
Sustainable Solutions for the Inhalation Industry
In an industry that centres on helping patients to breathe, the emissions of life-saving devices such as pressurised Metered Dose Inhalers (pMDIs) cannot be ignored. The industry is therefore in the midst of a transition to next-generation propellant gases in pMDIs that can reduce the carbon footprint of the devices. Currently used HFA propellants have a high Global Warming Potential (GWP) and are responsible for an estimated 3% of total carbon emissions from the UK’s National Health Service (NHS).¹ As a result, pMDIs have been identified as a priority for decarbonisation efforts, leading to the development of two new low GWP propellants: HFA-152a and HFO-1234ze. These have GWPs 100 times and 1,000 times lower than currently used propellants, respectively.
Enabling the industry to transition to these propellants is a central focus for Bespak. It has sparked adaptation and optimisation across Bespak’s processes, facilities, and components, as the industry looks to CDMOs to help facilitate the shift.
Investing in a Sustainable Future
In recognition of this responsibility, Bespak has been investing in its capabilities for the development and production of pMDIs using either of the next-generation propellants. Its product feasibility and development laboratories have been fully equipped to develop pMDIs with HFO-1234ze since 2022, and the CDMO has since invested in development and small-scale manufacturing capabilities for HFA-152a – providing necessary early-stage services for the industry.
