2026-01-08

Single-use technologies (SUT) ‘OR’ Single Use Systems (SUS) emerged commercially in the 1990s. Today, the term encompasses a range of disposable equipment and materials suited to a variety of scales and applications, from upscale bioprocessing to final formulation and filling. 

SUS have been proven as a game-changing solution, enabling the pharmaceutical industry to achieve improved efficiencies, reducing contamination risks with flexibility of manufacturing various products resulting in faster production time at a lower cost. What was once considered a mere convenience has now become strategic to biopharma for both large, established manufacturers and emerging biotech firms.

At Freudenberg Medical, we believe that this evolution is part of a much larger journey to sustainability in which innovations in material science, cleanroom manufacturing and process design come together to meet twin goals: high performance and environmental responsibility.

The Growing Need for Sustainable Pharma Manufacturing

The industry is being redesigned anew for the age of biologics, cell and gene therapies and personalised medicines. Traditional stainless-steel infrastructure is expensive, rigid and resource-intensive; it cannot accommodate the flexible small-batch aseptic processing environment required for these advanced therapies.

Meanwhile, the industry remains under growing pressure to reduce its ecological footprint. Water and energy consumption, cleaning chemicals, utilities' carbon footprint-the list of aspects under scrutiny continues to grow. Now, regulators, investors and international health authorities expect to see measurable and transparent progress on sustainability.

SUT respond directly to these challenges, enabling greener operations without compromising safety or product quality.

Economic Benefits of SUS

Lower capital investment: A key SUS economic driver is reduced up-front infrastructure cost: stainless-steel systems require large vessels, CIP/SIP equipment, complex piping and many utilities. Single-use assemblies arrive presterilised and ready to integrate, reducing costs for facility buildout and accelerating qualification timelines.

SUS is crucial to fast-growing biotech companies or multi-product facilities because this flexibility is core to their business. In this way, the manufacturer will be able to cope up with the demand without being constrained by oversized stainless infrastructure.

Operating expenses reduced: In the case of stainless-steel setups, CIP/SIP-related procedures are a very resource-intensive affair. They engage a great deal of manpower, water, steam and cleaning chemicals. Single-use assemblies take away much of this need and, in turn, reduce utility consumption along with operational overhead.

Smaller batch-to-batch turn-around times also tend to increase facility utilisation, thereby facilitating higher throughput levels, independent of any additional capital investment. In the end, it is these efficiencies that serve to directly lower the cost of goods—a critical advantage in competitive biologics and biosimilar markets.

Risk management and process reliability: Single-use systems reduce the risk of contamination because there are no residuals from previous batches. Components that are presterilised and gamma-irradiated simplify validation and cleaning verification. Over-molded silicone manifolds from Freudenberg Medical, HelixTC sanitary-end tubing sets and other assemblies increase reliability by limiting potential leak paths, securing connections and maintaining flow integrity during a process.

Reduced time-to-market: Speed can save lives in the pharma industry. Whether vaccine manufacturers, producers of personalised medicine, or CDMOs, each benefits from the fast deployment of manufacturing lines. This is because modularity of single-use assemblies, together with easy installation and prequalification allow for shorter project timelines, thus enabling companies to bring their products to market sooner.

Environmental impact: reducing resource use and carbon footprint: Even though most SUS are polymer-based, their environmental impact is best considered from a holistic point of view. SUS usually have obvious advantages in sustainability compared to stainless steel along the product life cycle.

Reduced water and chemical consumption: These conventional processes require large volumes of WFI (Water for Injection), cleaning agents, and steam sterilisation—all major contributors to environmental burden. Single-use assemblies eliminate many of these operations, conserve water, decrease chemical effluents and lower demands on waste-water treatment.

Reduced energy consumption: CIP/SIP infrastructure is a major consumer of electricity and steam. By eliminating or reducing these steps, SUS reduces a facility's overall energy footprint to help meet aggressive carbon-reduction targets.

Controlled waste management: As the final product, SUS is a solid waste, it is handled within controlled waste-handling systems and not within the consumer streams. Most single-use components are incinerated by facilities featuring energy recovery, thus offsetting some of the carbon impact and reducing contributions to landfills. Furthermore, Freudenberg Medical reduces material waste through precision silicone moulding, optimised tubing extrusion and cleanroom assembly efficiency.

Commitment to sustainability within our operations: At Freudenberg Medical, sustainability forms the core of our manufacturing DNA. We operate all our global network of cleanrooms and manufacturing facilities according to ISO 14001 standards. Many are powered by renewable electricity, and we continuously pursue initiatives in energy efficiency, process optimisation and materials conservation—all to ensure that our products are supportive of environmental and operational sustainability.

Designing Freudenberg Medical's portfolio for performance and sustainability: Drawing from several decades of experience in silicone and thermoplastic processing, high-purity tubing, and precision moulding, our single-use portfolio includes: over-moulded Y-connector and cross connector manifolds for safe, sterile fluid management; PharmaFocus premium silicone custom tubing assemblies; bottle-cap assemblies for safe sampling, batch processing and safe transport between the laboratory and GMP areas; HelixTC over-moulded sanitary connections for high integrity at sterile interfaces; and fully customisable SUA configurations built in ISO-certified cleanrooms.

Every product focuses on secure connections, leak prevention and consistent performance. Reliability in single-use systems isn't just a feature; it's a cornerstone of sustainable manufacturing that prevents rework, the loss of batches and unnecessary use of resources.

Overcoming obstacles: transitioning to a circular economy: The adoption of SUS raises some very critical questions in terms of long-term waste management and supply chain resilience. Freudenberg Medical addresses these challenges by positioning manufacturing for global supply resiliency, optimising materials and minimising waste during production, and collaborating on advanced end-of-life solutions with industry partners.

With the industry moving towards circularity, we continue to develop materials and processes that reduce environmental impact while meeting strict regulatory requirements.

Driving sustainability in pharma: SUS support the pharmaceutical industry in realising economic and ecological benefits while assuring safety and quality. Innovation and sustainability-both are connected at Freudenberg Medical. Backed by expertise in silicone, cleanroom manufacturing and validated processes, our advanced single-use assemblies let biopharmaceutical companies achieve their production objectives while moving towards sustainability. With global healthcare demand still on the rise, sustainable manufacturing is not an option, it's a must. Efficient, reliable and ecologically responsible, Freudenberg Medical helps lead the transformation to a greener and more resilient pharmaceutical industry.