L.B. Bohle Wet Granulator to Make US Debut at INTERPHEX
The company says it is the pharmaceutical market’s first wet granulator with an integrated, truly continuous dryer.
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L.B. Bohle, a Germany-based manufacturer and supplier of processing solutions for pharmaceutical solids, is previewing one of its offerings that will be making its United States debut at INTERPHEX in New York City in April 2025.
A press release on Feb. 10, 2025 said that L.B. Bohle representatives will be giving technical overviews of the company’s QbCon1, which L.B. Bohle describes as a three-in-one module that provides continuous raw material dosing, twin-screw wet granulation, and drying within a compact and mobile design (1). The continuous drying process, which the company has patented for this device, aims to improve product quality, increase flexibility, and enhance operator safety.
Drying capability for pharmaceutical applications, L.B. Bohle said, has typically been limited to semi- or quasi-continuous units, which operate on a per-batch basis (1). To alleviate the inherent problem in this process of filter blocking, QbCon1 employs a novel filter cleaning technique which ultimately permits short residence times for granules in the dryer, traceability of all excipients and active ingredients in a continuous process, uniform and reproducible drying of all particles regardless of size, and lengthened lifespans for exhaust air filters.
L.B. Bohle said that certain tests of QbCon1 showed some processed granules exhibited moisture content below that of the original raw material (1). The system can handle throughputs from 0.5 to 2.5 kilograms per hour—even up to 5 kg per hour for some products—making it versatile either for R&D phases involving very small quantities of APIs or efficient scale-up to commercial-level batches.
Compatibility with data acquisition systems is also available, affording the ability to optimize performance with detailed process insights (1).
Assembly and disassembly of QbCon1, as well as cleaning of the unit with water or detergent solutions, can be performed nearly tool-free, according to L.B. Bohle, in 10 minutes (1).
In Pharmaceutical Technology®’s September 2024 Trends in Formulation eBook, Vinay Patil, product development manager at Sharp Services, pointed to advances in granulation, compression, and coating as a few of the factors that have pushed innovation in formulation of drug products forward (2).
“The introduction of high-shear granulators, fluid-bed processors, and roller compaction has enhanced the production of tablets with better mechanical properties and dissolution profiles,” Patil said in the article. “Coating technologies have also advanced, with enteric coatings and controlled-release formulations becoming more common.”
With regard to dryers, the RheaLyo GMP-Flex continuous freeze-dryer +1 2 from RheaVita was given a 2024 CPHI Pharma Award in the Manufacturing Excellence category at the CPHI Milan conference in October 2024 (3). This dryer was touted as the first continuous freeze-drying system for aseptic good manufacturing practice production.
INTERPHEX will be held from April 1–3, 2025 at the Javits Center in New York City. L.B. Bohle said it is slated to occupy Booth 1519A at the event (1).
Click here to access Pharmaceutical Technology®’s coverage of INTERPHEX from 2023 and 2024.
References
1. L.B. Bohle. At INTERPHEX NYC, L.B. Bohle to Showcase US Debut of Pharma Market’s First Wet Granulator with Integrated, Truly Continuous Dryer. Press Release. Feb. 10, 2025.
2. Haigney, S. Forging Ahead in Formulation. Pharmaceutical Technology®/Pharmaceutical Technology EuropeTM Trends in Formulation eBook, 2024 September.
3. CPHI. CPHI Excellence in Pharma Award Winners 2024. Press Release. Oct. 8, 2024.
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