In the Spotlight June 2010

Manufacturing equipment is the link between a formulation and its consumers. Drug companies rely on their equipment to create high-quality products that are free of impurities. Firms also realize that their equipment must work efficiently and minimize waste, especially when expensive ingredients are at stake. This month's products demonstrate recent innovations in various parts of the manufacturing process. A new tangential-flow filtration system from Pall can improve biopharmaceutical yields and reduce cross-contamination. Veriteq's monitoring system helps to ensure that sensitive drugs are manufactured in a clean environment. A fast and accurate transport system from MagneMotion enables components to be tracked in transit.

Filtration system improves yields and concentrations

Pall's (Port Washington, NY) Cadence product is a tangential-flow filtration (TFF) system that accommodates single-use and reusable components. Eliminating the traditional recirculation loop, the Cadence system processes biopharmaceuticals in a single pass through its pump and cassette, thus reducing products' exposure to shear. Cadence systems require less pump capacity than other devices. Operators thus can use small piping or tubing diameters that enable low working and hold-up volumes.

Cadence TFF system Pall www.pall.com

The single-pass TFF process collects most of the process volume during operation. The system's low hold-up volume ensures that the small percentage of the product left in the module at the end of the run can be recovered easily. The system's design thus helps increase product yield. The Cadence system's cassettes are staged in series according to their performance for a given application. This staging results in high concentration factors.

Transport system enables track-and-trace capability

The MagneMover LITE transport system from MagneMotion (Devens, MA) moves and tracks loads as heavy as 2 kg at speeds as high as 2 m/s. Loads are moved on individual pucks that are assigned unique identifiers upon startup. The system's software uses built-in position sensors to track each puck as it moves through the system. The software provides complete reporting for audit trails and allows users to prioritize the routing of individual pucks. Puck identifiers can be cross-referenced with radio-frequency identification or barcode information.

MagneMover LITE transport system MagneMotion www.magnemotion.com

Monitoring system ensures complete records

The viewLinc cleanroom-monitoring system from Veriteq (Richmond, Canada) is designed to reduce the need for human intervention and ensure that measurement records are complete. The system includes a 10-year battery that allows data loggers to continue recording temperature, pressure, and relative humidity during power outages or network interruptions. After plant failures have been resolved, the viewLinc system fills in the data recorded during downtime to ensure gap-free records. The system also transfers files from data loggers on a weekly schedule or at user-selected intervals. The sensors are made of highly stable components and calibrated according to best practices to reduce sensor drift over time.

viewLinc monitoring system Veriteq www.veriteq.com

Unlike many chart recorders, the system can send remote alarms through texts, pagers, emails, and personal computers. The system sounds local alarms through flashing lights and buzzers. In addition, users can access the system through a web browser and request custom reports of cleanroom conditions. Operators also can request regular reports to be generated automatically through email.

New Product Announcements may be sent to New Products Editor, Pharmaceutical Technology, 485 Route One South, Building F, First Floor, Iselin, NJ 08830, fax 732.596.0005, ptpress@advanstar.com.