< PreviousMACHINERY AND EQUIPMENT 20 Pharma Business International www.pbiforum.net Even for factories which have limited available space or other resources, compact granulation systems ensure the same smooth production process as any of the aforementioned machines. These systems make up for their smaller stature with boosted energy economy and ergonomic flexibility. For dry granulation, the fluidisation agitators are simply replaced with mechanical pressure, such as roller compactors, to ensure the same uniformity of grain size. In cases where continuous processes are necessary, dry granulators serve this function by design. Of course, this also renders drying unnecessary, saving the high levels of energy and monetary cost which can be needed to mechanise this process separately. Capsule filling From this point, tablets will move on to compression machines. For capsules however, filling machines are needed. The cost of these can climb significantly when opting for a fully automated system, so a good piece of advice when trying out filling machines is to opt for a manual capsule filler to begin with. Manuals have a smaller production rate, but keep costs down in the tens of pounds rather than thousands. If you’re ready to step up to a semi- automatic filling machine system, these can take away much of the stress of filling and closing capsules by hand. The automatic capsule loading system does this for you, only requiring you to complete less demanding steps such as filling the powder and capsule hoppers, and removing the finished product when each batch is completed. Taking this next step up means being able to rely on accuracy and safety, while expediting production. For larger factories that need to fulfil a high level of demand, an automatic filling machine is likely to be a requirement. These can fill up to hundreds of capsules per minute, with speed and capacity depending on model. The bare minimum of manual intervention is required, as the machine can sow and open capsules, fill, 18-21.qxp_Layout 1 10/10/2022 13:23 Page 3Pharma Business International 21 www.pbiforum.net MACHINERY AND EQUIPMENT lock and discharge the product. It will also reject product if necessary and carry out module cleaning, reducing human labour by a vast amount and assuring universal product quality with every batch. Tablet coating Once the capsules have been closed, tablets have one final stop to make at a coating machine. Though it’s the last manufacturing process, it’s not just a finishing touch - this stage is crucial for protecting the product from temperature changes or humidity which could damage the integrity of the medicine. The sugar or film coating also masks the unpleasant taste of the pharmaceutical ingredients, making them easier for consumers or patients to use. Using different colours or stamping can even go that extra mile in giving your product a brand identity, making for an attractive finished product. Here also there are a variety of machine options to choose between when deciding what is best for your product, pocket and factory. The perforated pan type machine is the most commonly used worldwide in the pharmaceutical industry, thanks to its versatility in coating different shapes and types of tablet, as well as its speed and efficiency in coating and drying. Once the tablets are sealed in the rotating drum, the coating is sprayed on, the perforations helping to provide an even finish. Air, and solvents if necessary, are then introduced to rapidly dry the coating, leaving tablets ready for packaging. Most machines coat tablets through a similar method, with a rolling drum tumbling the tablets along a track while they are sprayed or trickled with a chosen coating. However, new equipment is being developed all the time, and one such development is the efficiency mesh coating machine. Here, coating is carried out in a closed environment that eliminates dust flying and loss of coating solution through spattering. With its more contained process, the efficiency model is an energy saving and efficient solution to reducing waste, hitting those buzzwords for any eco-conscious pharma factory. © stock.adobe.com/I Viewfinder 18-21.qxp_Layout 1 10/10/2022 13:23 Page 4VISION, INSPECTION AND DETECTION inspection Intelligent 22-25.qxp_Layout 1 10/10/2022 13:23 Page 1Pharma Business International 23 www.pbiforum.net VISION, INSPECTION AND DETECTION M achine vision inspection systems have become commonplace in pharmaceutical manufacturing, and many other industrial settings where quality control is needed. In these areas, machine intelligence is often crucial in preventing manufacturing errors from reaching consumers. After all, the process of identifying irregularities, defects and other flaws in products isn’t only important in maintaining a consistent appearance or positive opinions of a brand. It’s also a safeguard for public health, the final sign-off preventing customer misinformation, injury or illness, or even loss of life in certain extreme cases. To provide the utmost protection against these unwanted circumstances, averting the need for product recall, vision inspection systems sometimes use multiple cameras. Alongside video and lighting capabilities, these capture errors in labelling, product integrity, sizing or item counting, for just a few examples. All of these aspects and many more can carry errors over from any point during manufacture, from the making of individual components, right the way through to sorting and packaging. Humans are nothing if not fallible creatures, prone to tiredness, distraction and lapses in focus. If it was up to us to catch every mistake before it reached stores and stockrooms, too many errors would slip notice by little more than an accident. Not only that, but our reliance on the visible spectrum makes machine vision invaluable for detecting flaws invisible to the human eye. Some of those aforementioned multiple cameras employ hyperspectral or multi- spectral systems, which can detect dips in quality inside a product; internal damage to fresh produce, for instance, or faulty parts otherwise externally invisible, such as an irregular seal inside a lid. Item counts are also rendered as small a © stock.adobe.com/unlimit3d 24 Á 22-25.qxp_Layout 1 10/10/2022 13:23 Page 2VISION, INSPECTION AND DETECTION 24 Pharma Business International www.pbiforum.net concern as possible, with each machine’s penetrative vision and tireless attention to detail assuring uniformity, even amidst high demand for continuous output. This deep vision is particularly important in pharmaceuticals, an industry in which quality assurance deals with a multitude of small items, the ingredients they contain, and how effectively these are sealed for hygiene and safe transport inside their packaging. Accurate labelling is of particular importance, as is the inclusion of instruction and safety guidelines leaflets, when these give crucial dosing and ingredient information to people consuming or distributing medications. So many fine-detailed factors leaves each product open for a great deal of errors, in any number of combinations. For one, packaging integrity must be kept at optimum levels to avoid safety risk. Machine vision inspection ensures that bottles and vials are all fully sealed and tamper-proof, microscopic levels of measurement also ensuring proper sealing with infinitesimal accuracy, ruling out the smallest chance of contamination from environmental conditions or malicious intervention. Contaminants are of particular concern, as they could make contact or be combined with a product at any stage between ingredient mixing, passage through multiple machines, or after packaging and shipping. Irregularities in the contents of a products, which would potentially pose risks to consumer health if left unchecked, require machine detection before product recall becomes necessary. Even in rare cases where a product needs to be removed from availability, machine vision inspection and quality assurance systems store all their data digitally by design. Records of every product label and its identification details are thereby stored for future reference. Recording and storing data on this level would be an impossible task to expect of any number of human workers. Leaving it to the machines provides infinite returns in peace of mind, knowing that each product can be analysed, tracked and traced to its destination. Utilising machine memory of the swift journey a product has been on, thereby means it 22-25.qxp_Layout 1 10/10/2022 13:23 Page 3Pharma Business International 25 www.pbiforum.net VISION, INSPECTION AND DETECTION can be found and called back at short notice in emergencies. As recently as October this year, the need for pharmaceutical stock recall has proved the importance of vision inspection to reduce such urgent situations to a minimum. All batches of Sanofi’s anti-vertigo drug Stemetil syrup were ordered for recall on the 6th of the month, after unacceptable levels of N- nitrosomethylphenylamine were identified in the product. Nitrosamines can increase the risk of cancer in patients exposed to levels over the recommended limit for long periods of time. It became a matter of preventing danger to patient health to quarantine stock already obtained by healthcare professionals. But thanks to machine intelligence, effective processes are in place for healthcare settings to be notified, helping them return affected stock to the supplier. Machines can assist us in catching these flaws before they can get shipped out to the public, and may also have the intelligence to make pass/fail decisions at multiple stages along the production line. When integrated with other machines, vision inspection systems detect flaws long before final quality assessment checks take place. When machines are in action, especially in a busy factory, detection poses another difficult task for the human eye. Using machine vision in this capacity — thus alerting an operator to flaws or errors as soon as they can be detected — enables the most economic and efficient process possible in terms of time saved, and ingredients or products rescued from potential wastage. The talents of machines, when it comes to finding the invisible and giving the same attention to each individual item, leaves human staff free to devote time to the intricate problem-solving and creativity we can lend to manufacturing. With so much speed and focus already needed on the factory floor, machine vision inspection simply lifts some of the load that would otherwise lead to worker tiredness, short staffing and avoidable errors in manufacturing. These machines are trained to capture the flaws we are physically unable to detect. In the end, letting them do their jobs means we can devote more care to ours. © stock.adobe.com/Gorodenkoff 22-25.qxp_Layout 1 10/10/2022 13:23 Page 4ENVIRONMENTAL 26 Pharma Business International www.pbiforum.net W ith eco-consciousness only increasing and the race to Net Zero in full force, the pharmaceutical industry is under pressure to improve its significant environmental footprint. From addressing everything from intense energy consumption to packaging waste and inefficiencies in transport and logistics, there are myriad angles to take in this task, but thanks to stringent regulatory requirements placed on the industry it is no easy feat. However with the public as well as investors focusing more on sustainability, and often quoted research indicating the industry produces more emissions than the automotive sector, it is vital that those working within the pharmaceutical industry look to implement change and communicate their objectives clearly and transparently. While being good for the planet, this could push ESG-focused investors to provide finance and boost a company’s reputation. A number of actions can be taken to enhance sustainability, but firms must first be able to identify environmental challenges for improvement. Accurate measurements of a product’s footprint and processes is required to uncover where interventions are needed. Meanwhile the growth in data, access to it throughout the pharma industry, and use of AI to gain insights is helping here, to set sustainability targets. By drawing on data one can gather information and measure subsequent environmental action - although the carbon emissions and energy associated with data collection, storage, and analytics must not be overlooked. Additionally, to achieve positive changes, leadership and employees must be engaged and a green culture established within the organisation, incentivising behaviour change. Throughout the pharma industry there is space for environmental adjustments to be made. Starting with drug discovery and development, the energy-intensive equipment in labs, such as freezers, autoclaves, and centrifuges, and the need to maintain a strict environment can be addressed. In its report ‘Embedding environmental sustainability into pharma’s DNA’, Deloitte indicates adjusting the temperature of cold storage, lowering the fume-hood sash when not in use, using low water autoclaves which only run when full, and turning off equipment when not in use as simple steps to take to cut the environmental impact of equipment. Concurrently when purchasing new equipment it is advised that those emphasising energy efficiency and minimal lab waste are sought out, and on a wider level firms can make use of renewable energy sources and conduct waste audits to put in place more effective waste reduction and recycling. Moreover in manufacturing there is the opportunity to similarly employ green energy and invest in self-generation, while streamlining use and reduction in energy requirements is attractive for lessening costs in the energy-intensive manufacturing process, from heating and cooling to air drying, as well as in the running of the facility generally in air conditioning and ventilation for example. Integrating digital tools and AI can offer even more savings, facilitating constant monitoring of manufacturing conditions so that aspects like temperature and ventilation can be regulated, and providing data to continually improve energy management. There is room too for enacting things such as a switch from batch manufacturing to continuous manufacturing, which offers improvements including increased yields, reduced waste and water usage, and shorter manufacturing times. A more sustainable future 28 Á The pharmaceutical industry has a major role to play in addressing the climate crisis. 26-29.qxp_Layout 1 10/10/2022 13:24 Page 1Pharma Business International 27 www.pbiforum.net ENVIRONMENTAL © stock.adobe.com/blacksalmon 26-29.qxp_Layout 1 10/10/2022 13:24 Page 2ENVIRONMENTAL 28 Pharma Business International www.pbiforum.net On the topic of water and waste, further attention is a necessity. Regarding water, businesses should look to implement reduction, reuse, recycling, and recovery. For example, as manufacturing plants use different grades of water quality, purified water may be recovered and reused for another purpose, where a lesser quality is acceptable. A major threat to nature, contaminated water can be diverted into a new revenue stream or energy source. Implementing anaerobic digestion of heavily contaminated wastewater streams and even some pure solvent streams and other waste can create a biogas or biomethane, which can then be injected back into the national grid, generating a fuel stock, mitigating liquid waste disposal, and bolstering energy management. Waste disposal more generally must also be tackled to improve the environmental impact of the pharma industry. Approaches differ from avoiding landfill use to establishing a zero-waste strategy. With stringent legislation, often putting all waste into hazardous disposal is relied upon, despite being costly, to avoid difficulties in classifying it correctly. However, through the optimisation of waste disposal and with segregation of wastes, contamination of the environment can be evaded and energy use in disposal slashed, while presenting the opportunity for reuse and recycling and cost savings, as well as remaining compliant. Where incineration is required, energy generated in this process can be wielded for heat and power. In addition waste at the end of a medicine’s life should be considered, with improper disposal of unused drugs a key issue. Businesses can put in place awareness campaigns on disposal, provide information on packaging, and advertise take back programmes. Packaging is of course its own major source of waste for the industry and pharma firms are presented with obstacles in its recycling and reuse due to regulations and the potential for impurities to come into contact with medicines. This doesn’t mean advances aren’t being made to boost the sustainability of packaging in the pharma industry however. Bioplastics are being developed, biodegradable packaging materials used, technology is allowing plastics to be broken down for conversion into virgin-grade material for recycling of plastic that previously couldn’t be decomposed, and chemically recycled plastic - being indistinguishable from new - can be employed in the industry. Firms can also look to limit colour use and avoid multiple materials for outer packaging for recyclability, use mono-material packaging for less complicated recycling, use sustainable paper where possible, and reduce weight of packaging. Leaflets in packaging are also a key waste source and could be digitised to cut paper waste. The environmental footprint of transport and logistics provides another chance for bolstering sustainability. With cold chain logistics relied upon - building on to the environmental impacts of a product due to the additional energy needed to power cooling systems - greener and bio-based fuels should be utilised, while finding more efficient ways to store products in transport vehicles to require less trips and fewer vehicles, and selecting rail and ocean freight over air travel for long distance trips are advisable. Investigating localised manufacturing may also be on the cards for some, producing medicines nearer to where they are used to reduce the carbon footprint of distribution. Minimising the industry’s environmental impact cannot be done by one business alone, with collaboration with the wider supply chain (accounting for Scope 3 emissions) critical to improving pharma’s footprint. Using a plethora of suppliers, manufacturing sites, distribution centres, and multiple forms of transport, this can prove a complex task. Procurement decisions should therefore be made with consideration of the carbon footprint, waste, water and energy usage of suppliers and logistic companies, and influence and assistance used to push external organisations to set their own environmental targets. Though the essence of pharmaceuticals is to help people live healthier, without a healthy Earth this is not possible. Sustainability must become central to the industry, and the steps outlined here by Pharma Business International represent just a few that can be taken to ameliorate its environmental impact. 26-29.qxp_Layout 1 10/10/2022 13:24 Page 3Pharma Business International 29 www.pbiforum.net ENVIRONMENTAL © stock.adobe.com/karichs 26-29.qxp_Layout 1 10/10/2022 13:24 Page 4Next >