Pharmaceutical packaging company Sharp has committed more than €20m ($23.4m) to expand its European facilities amid demand for injectable products.
The funds will be used to upgrade sites in Hamont-Achel, Belgium, and Heerenveen, the Netherlands.
The focus will be on enhancing capabilities for assembling, labelling, packaging, and cold storage of various injectable types such as autoinjectors, pre-filled syringes, pen devices, and vials.
At its Belgian facility, Sharp will increase cold-chain warehouse space fourfold and double ambient storage capacity.
The site is also set to receive a new suite for syringe assembly and blister packaging.
Plans are in place to further boost device assembly and packaging operations.
To support efficiency on adjacent packaging lines for pre-filled syringes and autoinjectors, the company has introduced collaborative robot technology.
A new solar-powered carport has also been installed at the Hamont-Achel site to provide renewable energy.
Once fully commissioned by mid-2026, this system is expected to supply 50% of the facility’s electricity needs from renewable sources.
The Heerenveen site in the Netherlands will see an expansion of GMP production capabilities through the addition of two Grade D packaging suites.
These improvements aim to support upcoming syringe assembly and packaging projects, as well as increased vial packaging capacity planned for 2026.
Sharp Clinical & Sharp Europe managing director Robert O’Beirn said: “Our European facilities have a long-established reputation for successfully delivering the complex packaging services required for injectable drug formats.
"This investment represents a significant increase in our capacity to support our pharma clients, as sustainably as possible, with their injectable drug launches in the EU market.”
This European expansion forms part of a broader $100m investment programme announced by Sharp in November 2025.
In May 2024, the company expanded its Macungie facility in Pennsylvania, US, to address greater demand for secondary packaging of sterile injectables.
