Medicine pills

Pharmaceuticals

To prevent and address issues tied to poor flow, segregation, blend and content uniformity, a comprehensive understanding of the specific pharmaceutical powder behavior is crucial, from raw material dispensing, navigating the stages of blending, storage, and transfer, to the formulation of the final dose.
Overview

Pharmaceuticals

The pharmaceutical industry is driven by two key strategies, namely reducing costs or incorporating new technologies.

Examples of those key strategies include Process Analytical Technology (PAT), and new drug delivery systems.

Reducing costs may require the use of new raw material suppliers, which could result in unplanned process variability or unanticipated process changes.  Perhaps you are on the other side of this relationship, whereby you are unsure if your process changes will affect your customer.  On the other hand, newer materials and manufacturing techniques demand a better understanding of the process as a whole.  This may include implementing various programs such as six sigma, PAT, quality-by-design (QBD), or specific FDA guidance documents, with the goal of improved quality and reduced time-to-market.  Novel techniques (e.g., continuous blending) in the pharmaceutical industry can pose increased risk and effort to implement.

Medicinal capsules on a tray.

Medicinal capsules on a tray.

A tabletting press

Tabletting press

Prescription medication

Pharmaceutical products.

Material handling considerations for a continuous manufacturing line.

Services

Pharmaceutical Industry Services

Our engineers are knowledgeable with cGMP practices, FDA regulatory requirements, operations involving milling, compaction, agglomeration, drying, and the latest pharmaceutical powder handling innovations.

Pharmaceutical bin lift.

Pharmaceutical dump bin.

Engineer conducting material testing

Material testing at a pharmaceutical site.

Portable bin

Portable bin for pharmaceutical material.

Pharmaceutical tumble blender

Pharmaceutical tumble blender.

1,000 liter bin for pharmaceutical materials

1,000 liter bin for pharmaceutical materials.

Pharmaceutical dump hopper.

Pharmaceutical dump hopper.

Challenge

Common Pharmaceuticals Industry Challenges

Jenike & Johanson can provide you with knowledge of how pharmaceutical powders will behave from raw material dispensing, blending, storage, transfer, and through the creation of the final dose.

This knowledge can be used to avoid and solve problems related to poor flow, as well as segregation, blend and content uniformity.  We are also active participants in the research conducted by the ISPE Blend and Content Uniformity Initiative. Variability in pharmaceutical solid dosage form (e.g., tablet, capsule, or chewable) mass can be directly attributable to non-uniform powder flow and insufficient blending.  Tableting problems such as capping, delamination, or erratic hardness are often due to air and powder interaction at compaction.

Pharmaceutical powder in a hopper.

Testing of pharmaceutical materials on-site.

Materials

Common Materials Handled

Here is a shortened list of some of the most common bulk materials we have successfully handled in the Pharmaceutical industry to date. For more materials, please refer to our extended list of materials or ask us about your specific material.

  • Active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs)
  • Antibiotics
  • Opiates, analgesics
  • Excipients
  • Hormones
  • Therapeutics
  • Placebos
  • Contraceptives
  • Vitamins, nutraceuticals
  • Analgesics
  • ACE Inhibitors
  • Antibiotics / Penicillin
  • Anticoagulants
  • Anticonvulsants
  • Anti-depressants
  • Antidiabetics
  • Antihistamines
  • Anti-impotence
  • Channel Blockers
  • Cholinergics
  • Cough / Cold / Allergy
  • Hormones
  • Narcotics
  • NSAIDS
  • Placebos
  • Protease Inhibitors
  • Reductase Inhibitors
  • Vitamins
  • Powder Types
    • Excipients
    • Fine Granulations
    • Low Dose, High Potency Direct Compression Blends
    • Oral Suspensions
    • Pure Active
    • Wet and Dry Granulations
    • Wide Particle Size Distribution Blends
Clients

Pharmaceuticals Industry Clients

Some of the clients who we have successfully provided bulk material engineering services for in the Pharmaceutical industries.

  • Pfizer
  • Merck
  • Eli Lilly
  • Abbott Laboratories
  • Johnson & Johnson
  • Bristol Myers Squibb
  • Novartis
  • Janssen
  • Warner Chilcott
  • Abbott Laboratories
  • Agouron
  • American Pharmaceutical Partners
  • Amgen
  • Aventis
  • Bayer
  • Bristol Myers Squibb
  • Ciba Geigy
  • Delsys Pharmaceutical
  • Eli Lilly
  • Genzyme
  • Inhale
  • Janssen Pharmaceutical
  • Johnson & Johnson
  • JRH Biosciences
  • Lederle Labs
  • Merck
  • Merck, Sharp & Dohme
  • Novartis
  • Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical
  • Pfizer
  • Pharmacia
  • Procter & Gamble
  • Purepac Pharmaceuticals
  • Rhone-Poulenc
  • Roche
  • SmithKline Beecham
  • Syntex
  • Warner Lambert
  • Whitehall Labs
  • Wyeth Ayerst
  • Zeneca
Jenike & Johanson engineer
Jenike & Johanson engineer

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