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PDA Parenteral Packaging 2026: Meet Datwyler in Munich

Applied Research on Plunger Performance, High-Altitude Transport, and Component Integrity

  • Presenting applied research on plunger movement under vacuum and high-altitude transport effects on prefilled syringes
  • Bram Jongen co-chairs alongside Coralie Richard of Eli Lilly
  • Topics: elastomer component integrity across the full drug delivery lifecycle, from fill-finish to field conditions
Date April 14, 2026 – April 15, 2026
Location Munich Marriott Hotel City West | Munich, Germany
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Event Overview

Advancing the Science of Parenteral Packaging

The PDA Parenteral Packaging Conference Europe brings together the industry's most rigorous technical minds to tackle the real-world challenges of sterile injectable packaging, and Datwyler presented two expert sessions at this Munich forum.

About our talks

Geert Moens, Global Platform Leader, Vial Closure Systems, and Yitian Xiao, Global Biologics Product Expert, presented on:

  • Ensuring component integrity and system performance across the full parenteral packaging lifecycle

  • Adapting drug delivery for high-volume home administration, including how Datwyler's NeoFlex™ plunger range now supports larger containers and novel on-body injectors

Want to connect?

Connect with our team to discuss your parenteral packaging challenges, from fill-finish to field conditions, including Datwyler's comprehensive portfolio of:

  • NeoFlex™ plunger configurations validated for high-altitude transport and container closure integrity

  • Container closure systems engineered for the full drug delivery lifecycle

All demonstrated through applied research, including a poster on a vacuum method for evaluating plunger movement during high-altitude transport of prefilled syringes and cartridges.

Featured Presentations

Presentation Details

Ensuring Component Integrity and System Performance Where It Matters Most

Date & Time April 15, 2026 • 9:10 AM
Location Ballroom 2-3
View Geert Moens

Adapting Drug Delivery for High-Volume Home Administration

Date & Time April 15, 2026 • 12:35 PM
Location Foyer
Yitian Xiao, Global Biologics Product Expert at Datwyler, examines how the rising prevalence of biologics and sensitive therapeutics is rapidly reshaping the subcutaneous drug delivery landscape — and what that means for container closure system design. While SC administration empowers patients to self-administer at home and supports the growing shift toward decentralized, patient-centric healthcare, traditional SC injections have been limited to low volumes of typically 2mL or less due to concerns over pain, tissue tolerability, and absorption kinetics. Emerging therapies — including monoclonal antibodies, anti-cancer treatments, and long-acting neurologic formulations — increasingly require higher doses that cannot be feasibly delivered within these conventional volume constraints. This presentation explores how Datwyler has extended its NeoFlex™ plunger range to support larger containers and the novel on-body injectors designed for slow, controlled delivery — expanding the feasible range of SC administration volumes without compromising safety, therapeutic efficacy, or patient compliance. Attendees will also learn how a collaborative, open approach among container closure system and device development partners enables the optimization of pre-verified platform solutions, accelerating time to market and, ultimately, patient access to these next-generation therapies. 
View Yitian Xiao

A Vacuum Method to Evaluate Plunger Movement: High-Altitude Transport of Prefilled Syringes and Cartridges

Date & Time April 14, 2026 • 3:15 PM
Location Foyer
Prefilled syringes and cartridges travel the world — but does your packaging hold up at 30,000 feet? In this poster presentation, Mieke Nivelle, PhD, Manager Surface Development Healthcare, introduces a vacuum-based method developed to evaluate plunger movement during high-altitude transport simulations of filled syringes and cartridges. The study examines how headspace height, plunger diameter, siliconization, storage time, and simulated altitude each influence the risk of plunger displacement — and the potential sterility breach that could follow. Using an edge-of-fail approach, the team establishes maximum allowed headspace height limits across a range of NeoFlex™ and ISAF plunger configurations, providing pharmaceutical manufacturers with practical, data-driven guidance for securing container closure integrity throughout the global drug supply chain. 
View Mieke Nivelle, PhD
Speaker Spotlight

Meet the Speakers

Geert Moens

Geert Moens

Global Platform Leader, Vial Closure Systems | Datwyler
Geert Moens holds a university degree in Public Administration. After working in the Human Resources domain, he joined Datwyler in 2007. Geert has over a decade of experience within Datwyler as a Key Account Manager being responsible for various strategic pharmaceutical accounts throughout Europe and beyond. In this role he has developed a thorough insight in the landscape of pharmaceutical parenteral packaging components. In 2018, Geert became the strategic lead of Datwyler’s vial closure system components as a Global Platform Leader, where he drives the product and service portfolio, product and service innovations and formulates the market approach.
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Yitian Xiao

Yitian Xiao

Global Biologics Product Expert | Datwyler

Yitian Xiao is currently a Global Biologics Product Expert at Datwyler and brings a breadth of experience leading thought leadership initiatives supporting the evolving needs of the biologics industry. He previously worked in a commercial development role at Becton Dickinson (BD) providing pharmaceutical customers with consultation on BD products, services, and solutions to meet their development timelines. Prior to BD, he was a combination product R&D engineer at AstraZeneca responsible for managing technical aspects of device development, such as user needs, test method development, design verification, and design validation.

Yitian holds a M.Eng in Biomedical Engineering from Cornell University and a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Georgia Tech.  

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Mieke Nivelle, PhD

Mieke Nivelle, PhD

Manager Surface Development Healthcare | Datwyler

Since 2022, Mieke started as Manager Surface Development Healthcare for Datwyler, acting as a subject matter expert for packaging materials, washing treatments and application testing of pharmaceutical closures. As a researcher, she is very eager to expand her knowledge about current materials and processes in view of the development of new products, treatments and test methods.

After her Master in Bioscience Engineering at the University of Leuven, Belgium, Mieke Nivelle acquired a Ph.D. in Starch Polymer Functionality and Water Mobility for Bread Making. 

View LinkedIn
Solutions Spotlight

What We're Showcasing at PDA Parenteral Packaging

Explore the solutions and technologies most relevant to this event.

Presentation: Ensuring Component Integrity and System Performance Where It Matters Most
Featured Solution

Presentation: Ensuring Component Integrity and System Performance Where It Matters Most

Geert Moens, Global Platform Leader, Vial Closure Systems, presents on ensuring container closure component integrity and system performance across the full parenteral packaging lifecycle — covering the critical factors that determine reliable drug containment from manufacturing through patient use.
Presentation: Adapting Drug Delivery for High-Volume Home Administration
Featured Solution

Presentation: Adapting Drug Delivery for High-Volume Home Administration

Yitian Xiao, Global Biologics Product Expert, presents on the evolving demands of high-volume home administration and how container closure systems must adapt to support biologics patients self-administering outside the clinic.
Poster Presentation: A Vacuum Method to Evaluate Plunger Movement During High-Altitude Transport
Featured Solution

Poster Presentation: A Vacuum Method to Evaluate Plunger Movement During High-Altitude Transport

Mieke Nivelle, PhD, Manager Surface Development Healthcare, presents a poster highlighting a vacuum-based method for evaluating plunger movement during high-altitude transport of prefilled syringes and cartridges — addressing a critical real-world challenge for global pharmaceutical distribution and container closure integrity.
Additional Information

Continue Exploring

Access additional materials and information related to this event and Datwyler’s solutions.

Resource Sealed for Safety: A Complete Guide to Container Closure Integrity Testing
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Resource Flawless Functionality: Optimizing Injectable Drug Stability and Performance
→
Resource The Pivotal Role of Packaging in Patient Safety
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Helpful Information

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the PDA Parenteral Packaging Conference?
It is a specialist European conference focused on sterile injectable packaging, organized by PDA and held in Munich.
When is the PDA Parenteral Packaging Conference 2026?
The conference takes place April 14–15, 2026, at the Munich Marriott Hotel City West.
What presentations is Datwyler giving at PDA Parenteral Packaging Conference?
Datwyler presents three sessions: Geert Moens on component integrity (April 15, 9:10 AM, Ballroom 2-3), Yitian Xiao on high-volume home administration (April 15, 12:35 PM, Foyer), and Mieke Nivelle's poster on high-altitude transport of prefilled syringes (April 14, 3:15 PM, Foyer).
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