Syntegon (formerly Bosch Packaging Technology) and Vetter have won the PDA Drug Delivery Innovation Award. In the "Partnership Innovation" category, the Parental Drug Association (PDA) recognises development projects by pharmaceutical and machine manufacturers that 'advance the production of biopharmaceuticals'. The companies' collaboration resulted in the Versynta microBatch, an automated production cell with a gloveless isolator and a complete batch-to-batch changeover of less than two hours.
The production cell is designed to fill and close various containers. Syringes, cartridges and vials made of glass or plastic can be filled with minimal product loss, the company claims. Additionally, the gloveless isolator with integrated air treatment reduces the risk of contamination from machine operators. Automated filling and in-process control ensure continuous quality.
"There is a stronger focus on patient needs than ever before," said Vetter MD Thomas Otto. "The continuous progress in our industry towards greater patient well-being is a positive development and, at the same time, brings additional challenges for pharmaceutical manufacturers and service providers. Pharmaceutical and biotech companies require highly effective drugs for significantly smaller patient groups. For their service providers, this means creating new concepts for filling and process design while meeting increasing quality requirements. We have worked closely with Syntegon to develop a new industry standard for small-scale filling processes.
"We are also observing a growing demand for highly flexible filling solutions for small batches – and we know that innovations thrive best when many years of experience from different areas are combined," said Dr Alexander Giehl, Head of the Pharma Liquid & Inspection business cluster at Syntegon.
