The figures currently forecast by the consulting and research company IQVIA for the pharmaceutical market, show stable growth over the next five years, between 3% and 6% per year to about 1.6 trillion euros worldwide and 35 billion euros in Europe.

Quelle: IQVIA Market Prognosis, Sept. 2020; IQVIA Institute, Jan 2021

Further information about market development at IQVIA-Website: https://www.iqvia.com/de-de/locations/germany

 

Above-average growth (9% to 12% p.a.) will be achieved in the fields of oncology and immunology - areas which are very research and development-intensive on the one hand and which are associated with particularly high production requirements on the other. At the same time, these pharmaceutical areas are experiencing high demand worldwide.

As a result of these growth figures, capacity expansions while ensuring the highest quality standards are becoming increasingly important. Regardless of the production line on which a particular drug or active ingredient is filled, product safety and reliable quality must always be guaranteed in addition to FDA regulations and GMP.

Therefore, organic growth also includes the further development and expansion of quality assurance systems. On the one hand at the organizational and regulatory level, but also in terms of technical implementation. Inspection must take place at all relevant intermediate steps in the production process. This increases safety and saves production costs.

 

Product topic 1: Lean inline inspection combines safety with cost reduction

The quality requirements for the production of pharmaceutical products are extremely high. The regulations applied for this purpose (GMP, cGMP, etc.) are continuously being developed and are placing ever higher demands. In addition to sterile production, other production areas, including medical products, are also gradually being covered by these regulations.

In addition to the actual production technologies as well as the process know-how, the inspection of the products is of decisive importance. A large number of different inspection systems and technologies are available today for this purpose. Traditionally, companies like to incorporate their own inspection machines into the production line, which perform several tests at once, such as a fill level check, cap check, particle check, and leakage check.

The question that is increasingly being asked is whether dividing up these tests into compact, low-cost individual tests is not the more future-proof way forward. The advantages outweigh the disadvantages:

No additional space required

Compact testing equipment, especially for fill level control or cap testing, requires no additional floor space in the already limited sterile area, but can be installed in the line directly on a transport starwheel or linear feeder.

No machine costs

Since the existing conveyor is used, there are no machine costs as for a complete testing machine.

Flexibly adaptable

If something changes in the product or if the entire line is to be used for a different product, the conversion of a complex inspection machine quickly becomes expensive, if it does not have to be replaced at all. Individual inspection stations, on the other hand, can be flexibly adapted - and even if they have to be replaced, the effort is less.

Biggest advantage: increased productivity

Since compact inline inspection stations follow directly after the respective process stage, running statistics can be used to detect at an early stage if certain defects increase in the production step, for example because a flanging mechanism is worn. In this way, process faults occurring at an early stage are detected in good time and expensive scrap is saved.

Such inline inspection stations do not always replace a complex inspection machine. But where possible, they offer advantages in terms of economy, flexibility and future-proofing. Below you will find an overview of various inline inspections from our portfolio.

 

Quelle: Omron Europe & Optonic GmbH – overview in-line inspection systems

 

Product topic 2: Uniform management of test stations

Distributed test stations can become a challenge from an organizational and operational point of view. To enable easy integration and consolidated view of all inspection stations, we have two complementary solutions:

    All inspection stations are based on Omron's image processing technology. This means that comprehensive international certifications are available from the outset.
    All these inspection stations can be integrated via the isys Vision Cockpit: uniform access rights, consolidated audit trail and an easy way to integrate with the user's plant control and higher-level information technology.

Contact us and we will work with you to investigate which of our inspection stations best meets your requirements and how it will be integrated into your plant and IT environment. From fill level to post-print inspection on the finished packaging, we cover all important production steps with lean solutions.

You can find initial information on our portfolio of inspection stations on our website.