Continuous Manufacturing
Continuous Manufacturing
The future of pharma manufacturing
During the last decades, batch manufacturing has been the used and trusted method for the production of pharmaceutical products. But more recently, continuous manufacturing (CM) is becoming a promising, alternative approach. At DFE Pharma, we believe that CM is the future of pharmaceutical manufacturing, and regulators - including the FDA and the EMA - agree. Continuous manufacturing is encouraged by regulatory bodies since it is in line with the quality-by-design (QbD) paradigm for pharmaceutical development. In addition, CM offers numerous advantages over batch production – not least higher product quality at lower manufacturing costs.
At DFE Pharma, we have been at the forefront of driving this change for more than a decade. We have carried out detailed research on how the excipients properties affect CM processes and partnered with leading pharmaceutical companies as they took their first steps into this new field. Our expertise has led to the development of several CM-enabled excipients, all available as part of our portfolio.
Shifting from batch to continuous production won’t happen overnight. We stand ready to support our customers and industry partners through this transformation.
Advantages of continuous manufacturing
Batch production has dominated the oral solid dose manufacturing landscape for decades. Now, the regulatory barriers to using continuous processes, like feeding, blending, granulation and tableting, are coming down.
Developers can already reap the many benefits of CM, including increased product uniformity and process optimization, fewer bio studies and shorter registration batches, and safer, fully automated, unattended production. CM also provides integrated CIP/WIP, reduces the physical footprint, waste and the scale up and production/processing times, while it increases process flexibility.
These advantages can help to reduce risks while increasing speed-to-market and product quality and significantly lowering manufacturing costs.
Our specialized portfolio: CM-enabled excipients
Although traditional processes like direct compression, roller compaction or wet granulation are used within continuous lines, the requirement for ingredients can differ from traditional batch processing. As experts in this field, at DFE Pharma we evaluated the behavior of differing grades of our excipients when applied to CM processes.
While most of DFE Pharma’s products can be used in CM processes, recent research has led to the development of our specialized portfolio of best-in-class, CM-enabled products. These excipients have been specifically designed to meet the requirements of future pharmaceutical manufacturing processes.
