Siemens, GEA Offer Continuous Tablet Manufacturing Line

Processing technology provider GEA formed a partnership with engineering corporation Siemens to offer life sciences and pharmaceutical industry customers with an integrated continuous tablet manufacturing line, Siemens announced in a press release Monday.

The German firms said that the effort will result in cost-effective production improvements, reduced risks in execution of projects, and a lift in quality as Siemens and GEA integrate technologies, know-how, and support services.

“Amalgamating our state-of-the-art continuous processing technology with Siemens’ automation systems allows us to further support the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Pharmaceutical Quality for the 21^st Century program and help pharmaceutical companies adopt continuous manufacturing (CM) technologies and modernize their production infrastructure,” said Franz Maas, vice president of APC Pharma Solids at GEA in a statement. “Together, our combined experience and expertise will provide significant industry benefits as pharmaceutical manufacturers transition towards continuous manufacturing.”

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Under the partnership, GEA’s ConsiGma continuous manufacturing platform is paired with Siemens’ automation and industrial IT solution, which includes Sipat for PAT Data Management. The companies’ technologies provide manufacturers with both wet granulation and direct compression capabilities.

“The use of CM technologies and inline PAT monitoring is a key driver of building quality by design (QdB) into the complete product lifecycle, from R&D through to manufacturing, with the ultimate aim of getting safer medicines to market in a more efficient and cost-effective way,” said Hartmut Locker, vice president of market development board pharma, in a statement.

The GEA equipment continuously transfers powder into coated tablets in a single unit, including performing dosing and mixing of raw materials, wet or dry granulation, drying, tableting, coating, and quality control. The equipment producer said its technology enables manufacturers to reduce development time and use of raw materials.

According to the companies, the system is scalable and modular, providing an option to companies to enter CM on a step-by-step basis.

For more information, visit www.siemens.com/pharma