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When packaging operations for Abilify, a drug to treat schizophrenia, and Coumadin, a blood thinner, were transferred to a different plant, Bristol-Myers Squibb decided to install a new bottle containment filling line. The goal was to improve fill accuracy and protect workers from the products’ dust. New Brunswick, NJ-based Bristol-Myers Squibb researched different fillers on the market and chose the Model 815 15-wheel bottle filler from Aylward Enterprises. This story describes Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Mt. Vernon, IN, facility's employment of a restricted access barrier system to protect workers from high-potency drugs.
Nowhere in packaging are flexibility and fast changeover more necessary than in the contract-packaging arena, where multiple customers and their many SKUs are a fact of life. That’s why ease of changeover was a key machine characteristic sought by Brecon Pharmaceuticals recently when it came time to install a new line for blister packing and cartoning of tablets. This fast-growing contract packager, acquired last year by Amerisource Bergen, is located in the UK near the town of Brecon, Wales. Both thermoforming and cold-forming of foil are routinely done on this new and highly versatile blister-pack line.
Providing quality healthcare while holding the line on costs continues to be a priority throughout much of the life sciences industry. Watching expenses is a critical task at Group Health as well, where the company’s Seattle facility handles mail-order prescriptions and serves as a central fill location for its 26 pharmacies located in both Washington and Idaho. Since adding a Maverick Enterprises UPM B/T (Universal Packaging Machine with Bottle and Tote infeed), Group Health has reduced its labor needs, improved efficiency within its confined 7,000 sq’ area, and readied itself to handle growing sales volume. In turn, those benefits help to hold down Group Health member costs.
Much like drivers appreciate the performance, handling, and flexibility of the finest sports cars,
Italian contract manufacturer/packager Fine Foods N.T.M. (New Technology Manufacturing) S.p.A opts for similar characteristics in the packaging machinery it specifies. As manufacturers speed their products to market, it increases the deadline pressures on companies such as Fine Foods. In turn, Fine Foods relies on packaging machinery for the flexibility and output it needs to meet the demands of its manufacturer-customers.
* the intelliFILLER SFS fills and caps disposable syringes at speeds of 150 units/min, and accommodates different syringe sizes and fill volumes
* filled and capped syringes are 100% inspected by an on-board vision system
* outer enclosure, with safety interlocked doors and HEPA filters, provides a Class 100 filling environment, while product contact parts, materials and construction are designed for clean room filling while the small footprint makes efficient use of space
* intelligent machine controls enable download and upload of process data; create e-records; demand authorized user and e-signature to make setting changes; and allow remote monitoring, diagnostics and control
Drug delivery devices, advances in combination products, and biologics/biopharmaceuticals will present both challenges and opportunities for packagers. New packages and drug delivery methods for over-the-counter (OTC) drugs, nutraceutical and cosmeceutical products are appearing on retail drug and grocery store shelves. (Part II of II)
* Helios is a linear, volumetric automatic filler with a brushless motor drive system that replaces a mechanical drive system
* disassociation of the actuator product suction and delivery times results in shorter cycle time
* "top-dead-point" actuators enable complete actuator draining and prevents retention or stagnation zones of filled products
• Model 535 machine is for dosing and closing nested syringes and containers
• for pharma and biotech companies looking to automate and/or validate product filling in clinical trials or development
• handles up to 2,000 containers/hour
• new design in peristaltic pumps provides precise filling and fast, efficient cleanup validation
• sterile product comes into contact with only the medically graded silicone tubing and filling needle, handling fill volumes from 0.1-mL to more than 1 L
• for small- and medium-sized batches, the pumps can be part of a stand-alone filling unit or up to a system with 16 filling needles
