Agenda: INTERPHEX 2015

There are certain signs that Spring will soon arrive: pitchers and catchers report to baseball spring training, the store shelves change inventory from parkas to pastel clothing, and trade show and conference season moves into full swing. The calendar for the next few months is busy with trade shows, symposia, and conferences addressing all aspects of bio/pharmaceutical manufacturing. Pittcon, DCAT, and the Parenteral Drug Association host events in March. 

Looking ahead to April, the focus is on INTERPHEX, the annual exhibition for bio/pharmaceutical manufacturing, scheduled for April 21-23 at the Javits Center in New York City. Pharmaceutical Technology, with its sister publication, BioPharm International, is again sponsoring free educational sessions on tableting, continuous manufacturing, serialization, cell therapy manufacturing, and contract services. All sessions will be presented in the exhibit hall; admission is free to any attendee with an exhibit hall pass. The following is a preview of the topics.

Contract Services Market: 2015
Jim Miller, founder and president of PharmSource Information Services, will offer a review of the contract services landscape. Topics will include the financial market conditions and consolidation in the CMO market, manufacturing capacity, pricing pressures, changing relationships with bio/pharma companies, and more (April 22, 11 am).

Real-World Serialization: How Good is Your Game Plan?
Serialization deadlines have been set; however, some companies are waiting to take action. Experts from Optel Vision, CRB Consulting Engineers, Pharma Logic Solutions, TraceLink, OCS Checkweighers, Vetter, and PCI will summarize the latest global regulations, offer concrete estimates of return on investment, and share examples of real-world serialization programs that are already yielding returns (April 21, 11:15 am). 

Developments in Continuous Solid-Dosage Manufacturing
Continuous solid-dosage manufacturing processes offer the potential for improved quality and higher production efficiency. Doug Hausner, associate director for industrial relations and business development at the Engineering Research Center for Structured Organic Particulate Systems, Rutgers University, will discuss regulatory expectations for continuous processing sensing and control (April 21, 1:15 pm).

Advances in Tableting
Sharon Nowak, Coperion K-Tron Food &Pharmaceutical Industries, with discuss the optimization of feeding and conveying technologies for difficult flowing pharmaceutical powders. Martin Hack, vice-president and general manager, L.B. Bohle, will discuss fluid bed technologies for improved processing; Fred Murray, president, Korsch America will examine multi-layer tableting technology  (April 21, 2:15 pm).

Succeeding in Cell Therapy Commercialization
Cell therapy is becoming a crucial area of R&D for more companies. Succeeding in this complex area requires a clear understanding of process needs, and equipment that automates more processes. Experts discuss the issues and how to take a holistic approach from the earliest conceptual stage of any cell therapy project. Speakers include Eytan Abraham, Lonza; Robert Preti, NeoStem; Richard Grant, Invetech; Harvey Brandwein, Pall Corp.; Phil Vanek, GE Healthcare (April 22, 1:15 pm).

To learn more about these conference sessions, visit www.pharmtech.com/pt/Interphex2015.

Meet the Editors at INTERPHEX 2015
In addition to moderating these educational session, the editors of Pharmaceutical Technology and BioPharm International will explore the exhibit hall to learn about the newest technologies, and drug development and processing applications. Please stop by the Pharmaceutical Technology booth (#1530) to discuss ideas about the industry and your suggestions for topics for future issues of the magazine.

About the Author
Rita Peters is editorial director of Pharmaceutical Technology.

Article DetailsPharmaceutical Technology
Vol. 39, Issue 3
Page: 12
Citation: When referring to this article, please cite as R. Peters, “Agenda: INTERPHEX 2015,” Pharmaceutical Technology 39 (3) 2015.