Natoli Engineering Donates to University Research Program

On Feb. 7, 2018, Natoli Engineering, a manufacturer of tablet compression equipment, announced the donation of a NP-400 tablet press to Purdue University’s continuous manufacturing research program.

The tablet press will operate at the university’s Center for Particulate Products and Processes, which allows students to study, design, and manufacture pharmaceutical tablets and other particulate products at an industrial scale. The new tablet will replace an older Natoli tablet press model that was part of the center’s continuous tablet manufacturing pilot plant located on the university campus in West Lafayette, IN.

“Continuous manufacturing is an important focus for us,” said Gintaras Reklaitis, the Burton and Kathryn Gedge distinguished professor of chemical engineering, in a press statement. “Much of our work goes into developing and implementing best practices for continuous manufacturing, and through this work advancing the regulatory science that is important for the industry and [FDA]. Partnering with a company like Natoli is helping us to do just that.”

Along with the tablet press, the company’s donation includes operating software and three sets of tooling. The tablet press can make up to 180,000 tablets per hour, according to the company.

“This gift will be a huge benefit to our students,” said Marcial Gonzalez, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Purdue, in the statment. “It’s one thing to study processes in a classroom or do experiments at a workbench. But at Purdue, our students get the hands-on experience of working in an integrated continuous manufacturing pilot plant with state-of-the-art online sensors for monitoring and process control, as well as unit operations, such as powder feeders, blenders, roller compactors, granulators, extruders, and now a top-of-the-line tablet press.”

“We are excited to see how the students and researchers at Purdue University will use this gift to establish industry best practices and propel advancements in continuous manufacturing,” said Dale Natoli, president of Natoli Engineering, in the release. “As a member of the Center for Structured Organic Particulate Systems, which allows universities and industry leaders to work together to improve how pharmaceuticals are manufactured, Purdue is the ideal university with which to collaborate.”

Source: Natoli Engineering