Swissmedic certifies medical nitrogen for the first time
Messer Schweiz AG is the first industrial gases company in Switzerland to have its medical nitrogen tested by Swissmedic. According to Messer, this represents a significant improvement in quality control.
Until now, all gas companies have only tested the quality of comparable products internally. Messer Schweiz AG is now the first and only supplier in Switzerland to supply the first officially certified medical nitrogen. "No healthcare provider can afford to compromise on safety and quality," says CEO Dr. Hans Michael Kellner. "It's about our health and we don't compromise on that." As a result, the Lenzburg-based industrial gases company offers customers a guarantee of the highest quality. "We started this registration process early and at the same time built a new large nitrogen filling plant so that we can deliver to the whole of Switzerland immediately and without delay," says Dr Kellner. "We already have the first orders and assume that no gas company will be able to do without Swissmedic approval in the future."
Strict requirements of Swissmedic
For the registration of medical nitrogen with Swissmedic, detailed documentation of production, quality assurance and process flows is required. This means that all three areas are firmly defined and regularly audited. Messer Schweiz AG is liable for the medical product supplied, in terms of compliance with processes and quality. Medical facilities thus receive a guarantee that the nitrogen is always produced and supplied in accordance with the strictest regulations.
Use of medical nitrogen
Particularly in the case of medical products, such as in the production of drugs in the pharmaceutical industry, nitrogen is used as an auxiliary substance to displace oxygen. This is a prerequisite for compliance with the specifications of the European Pharmacopoeia. This property is of particular benefit in the production and packaging of pharmaceuticals in order to achieve long-term stability of active ingredients. Cryogenic liquefied nitrogen is also used in cryotherapy (icing) to remove warts, etc. by dermatologists. In this case, it can replace surgical interventions or drug treatments.
Other applications in gas form are:
- Inert gas for protection against oxidation
- For X-ray contrast imaging
- For flushing and displacement of air
- For inhalation with oxygen (maximum 80 vol.-% N2)
Frozen liquefied:
- For cryotherapy (cold wind treatment) for rheumatic diseases
- For cryosurgery (for operating cryosurgical instruments)
- For freeze-preservation of biological materials (cells, tissue, blood, semen etc.)
Messer Schweiz AG employs over 100 people and is part of Messer Group GmbH, the world's largest owner-managed industrial gases company with over 5,400 employees and over one billion euros in sales. Today, Messer Schweiz AG is strongly anchored in the Lenzburg region and is continuously growing throughout Switzerland.
