Almac boosts productivity with new encapsulation equipment
EU and US sites now have same capacity to handle large and small scale projects
Almac, a leading provider of contract services to the global pharmaceutical and biotech industries, has acquired two new pieces of encapsulation equipment at its North American headquarters in Souderton, PA.
The Bosch GKF 702 capsule filler with integrated KKE 1700 checkweigher gives added value to the already impressive array of over-encapsulation capabilities offered by the global service provider as part of a complete clinical supply chain management portfolio.
The Bosch cGMP-compliant system is able to produce 42,000 capsules per hour compared with the 2,700-4,500 output of Almac’s current machine in the US. Further capabilities of the new equipment include powder, pellet, tablet and placebo fill as well as multi-fill. The addition now creates balance between Almac’s EU and US sites by providing the same capacity to handle large and smaller scale projects simultaneously.
'This level of investment in encapsulation technology allows us to expand our capacity within our core services and shows our commitment to our clients,' said Dan Megill, director of operations at Almac. 'Bosch was chosen by Almac because they are a leader in capsule filling and weighing equipment with a variety of options. We are extremely pleased with this acquisition and expect it to contribute greatly Almac’s overall productivity.'
The KKE 1700 checkweighing machinery strengthens the acquisition by offering comprehensive documentation of the production batches, optimal pharmaceutical security and a high degree of productivity. The GKF 702 with its upgraded performance builds on the success of the previous GKF 701 model and the machine offers many advantages for research and development. The machine’s modular design offers the possibility to retrofit any future filling needs and all new filling stations currently in development will be compatible with this machine type.
