A joint venture (JV) of US-based technology company Corning and France-based pharmaceutical glassmaker SGD Pharma developed a new pharmaceutical glass tubing facility in Telangana, India, to expand pharmaceutical manufacturing in the country.
The plant combines Corning’s proprietary glass-coating Velocity® Vial technology platform with SGD Pharma’s vial-converting expertise to enhance the quality of vials and filling-line productivity, as well as the delivery speed of injectable treatments worldwide.
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Developed with an investment of approximately Rs5bn ($60.3m), the facility helps the companies to support drug manufacturers in addressing progressively complex capacity and quality challenges while fulfilling the worldwide need for essential medicines.
The Corning-SGD Pharma joint venture was announced in April 2023. The ground-breaking ceremony for the facility took place in June 2023.
The production of Velocity vials commenced at SGD Pharma’s facility in March 2024, while the production of pharmaceutical tubing began in late 2025.
Pharmaceutical glass tubing facility details
Corning and SGD Pharma’s glass tubing facility is located in Vemula in Telangana’s Mahabubnagar district.
The plant produces high-quality Type I borosilicate glass tubing for injectable drug packaging for direct injection delivery systems, diagnostics, and biologics.
The facility’s glass melting furnace is equipped with Linde’s Dilute Oxygen Combustion (DOC) systems, which use flameless oxygen-enhanced combustion technology. The systems can minimise fuel consumption while reducing operating costs and emissions.
Corning’s Velocity Vials details
The Velocity vials are made of Type I borosilicate glass, adhering to ISO standard dimensions. The adherence streamlines the regulatory process for converting marketed drugs. Notably, the vials can seamlessly integrate into existing operations without requiring substantial modifications or necessitating reporting to regulatory authorities.
Conventional glass vials generally have a higher coefficient of friction, which can cause challenges during pharmaceutical filling processes. It can reduce the flow of vials on filling lines and lead to interventions, vial jams, tip-overs and glass breakage, creating disruptions and increasing drug filling manufacturing costs.
Corning’s Velocity vials come with an external low-friction coating that improves the quality and speed of delivery of lifesaving treatments.
The coating significantly reduces the coefficient of friction, enabling smoother flow and movement of the vials on filling lines. The coating reduces the occurrence of damage that can lead to cracks and fractures, as well as cosmetic defects.
The Velocity vial has a more environmentally sustainable design than traditional pharmaceutical packaging. It improves the fill and finish efficiency by 20% to 50%.
It reduces glass particulates by up to 96%, retains 90% of its strength and reduces crack generation by three times.
The optimised manufacturing process enabled by Velocity vials helps accelerate the delivery of critical pharmaceutical products.
SGD Pharma’s existing Vemula facility details
SGD Pharma’s facility in Vemula is built on a 40,049m² area and is dedicated to Type I, moulded and tubular glass vials for pharmaceutical and biotech applications. It features a furnace with two lines and a 3,440m² ISO 8 clean room.
It produces more than three million vials and ampoules per day with sizes ranging from 1ml to 500ml. The company offers over 100 tubular products and more than 80 moulded products.
The plant is equipped with Linde’s patented DOC Hybrid Combustion System for the Forehearth Furnace, the first of its kind across the globe.
Contractors involved
Dukhiram Maurya Engineering & Refractory Works India executed the fabrication and erection of furnace structural steel, cooling ducts, and piping works. It also installed refractories, commissioning support, and hot sealing works.
Linde, an industrial gases and engineering company, supplied application technologies for the facility.
J Sagar Associates (JSA) acted as the legal adviser to SGD Pharma in its JV with Corning for establishing the Vemula pharmaceutical glass tubing facility.
Marketing commentary on Corning
Corning specialises in glass science, ceramic science and optical physics. In February 2023, Corning formed a JV with German pharmaceutical packaging company Gerresheimer to meet the growing demand for Velocity vials, addressing the requirements for a high-quality and cost-effective injectable drug-filling process.
