Henriëtte Valster is the managing director of EMCM. “The wide variety of production options we can offer our clientele is unique in our field,” she observes proudly. “With three highly relevant licenses, we are an extremely versatile partner for research and commercial organisations alike. We are licensed to produce biomaterials, medical devices and pharmaceutical items. With respect to injectables, other liquids, organic solutions and suspensions, we are one of the best companies around. Several filling technologies and corresponding customised filling machines are available to us. Our third license concerns the processing of human tissue, such as bone, that is cleaned in our laboratories and subsequently redistributed. We have developed unique technologies in this field and cooperate closely with national and international bone-tissue banks. Our fourth area of expertise is that of nutraceuticals or food supplements. This field is of growing importance, however, as the food industry and the general public alike embrace food supplements as providing added value to several products.”
As its name suggests, EMCM is usually contracted to manufacture specialty products on demand, but the company also developed several products independently, such as bone cement, cement restrictors, adhesion barriers and cosmetic injectables.
“Our strategy is to focus on serving niche markets with products that have unique qualities,” adds Business Manager Basil Babychan. “That way, we make optimum use of our skills and expertise. Besides powder and liquid manufacturing, we offer all kinds of specialised storage facilities and distribution logistics needed for these types of products. Nijmegen is the perfect location for us, as it is close to the academic medical centre of Radboud University. We do not initiate any research projects ourselves, but we are an excellent partner when research findings are ready to be transferred to the next step and production processes need to be developed. Moreover, relatively new businesses gladly make us of our services to upgrade their production capacity.”
EMCM was established in 1993 by a pharmacist and just four employees. Since 1997 the company has been situated at its current premises, in which it was able to install more than 1,500 m² of GMP accredited classified areas. All clean rooms conform to ISO and GMP standards for compliant manufacturing of medical products.
EMCM is a subsidiary of aap Implantate AG, a company listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. At present, it has about 70 employees and operates worldwide, establishing close and long-standing partnerships with clients in a wide variety of industries.
“We are currently working on a new philosophy,” Ms. Valster states. “We organise internal meetings with our staff about ‘the new EMCM,’ discussing new opportunities, markets, products or novel ways of manufacturing current products. Our intention is to include more biotechnology into our spectrum, and we like to work out such issues internally before approaching the market. We never say that things cannot be done. Instead we discuss the options and find creative solutions.”
Interestingly, one result of EMCM’s tendency to reflect on alternative ways of production is that it introduced the injection moulding technique of the automotive industry into the production of antibiotic medication. The company implemented the manufacturing process of little beads that are easy to use and slowly dissolve to release the antibiotic material into one’s body.
“The basic attitude of our company is essentially proactive,” observes Mr. Babychan. “We inspire our clients, they inspire us, and at times we see the best ideas in completely different industries, as well. EMCM is not just a manufacturer of medical and pharmaceutical products. We are partners who provide solutions, find new and efficient ways and innovate ourselves in the process.”