Pharma’s future on show

27 April 2010



The present and future of pharmaceutical packaging come together at Pharmintech 2010 in Bologna, Italy, from 12-14 May.


Increasing customisation in the pharmaceuticals market is leading to smaller batch volumes, which means that flexibility and economic efficiency are paramount in packaging lines.

Top suppliers of processing and packaging technology for the industry will be at Pharmintech, an event that brings together the present and future of one of the most demanding manufacturing sectors.

Exhibitors will parade products and services tailored to meet today’s needs, while insight into what is around the corner will come from the collective resources of universities and pioneering corporate research departments.

The creation of a zone focused on innovation in drug manufacturing and management marks an important advance in the cooperation between academia and industry, says event organiser Ipack-Ima.

In addition, exhibiting companies will present a stream of successful case histories throughout the event, with an entire day devoted to developments in drug traceability. A roll call of top industry suppliers begins with All-Fill International. Its Italian agent Soitra will show the AFI Series 1 Micro-Filler, designed for the precision dosing of powders and granules by volume or weight.

The unit will be in a pre-production configuration, with a purpose-built workstation, integrated Mettler balance, multi-stage filling to 2-3mg accuracy.

The Marchesini Group will focus on pharmaceutical serialisation, bringing four versions of the Neri BL400 XL Track&Trace labeller. Neri’s BL400 for syrups and BL600 for vials can also be seen. For the solids market, the featured Integra300 comprises a robotic blister line combining two thermoforming and carton packaging operations in a single monobloc unit. Visitors will also see a tube filler for tablets, the MT1000, ‘a new concept of filling rigid tubes’; and the MST200MINI for packaging solid products in strips.

Omag’s stickpack dosing system - the CS/10 multilane vertical intermittent motion machine – comes in different versions from 1 to 20 tracks and can be adapted for various dosing groups. A new ‘phased vacuum dosing system’ eases the release of products that are not free flowing.

The horizontal packaging machine Mod CO 150 with intermittent motion packs solid – powdery and granular - liquid and viscous products in thermo-sealed sachets and stand-up styles.

Visitors will see aseptic filling and sealing machines for pre-sterilised bags featuring Plümat technology. These include an integrated FFS Line and newly developed overwrapping system that avoids intermediate handling and can reduce costs; an aseptic machine for products which cannot be post-sterilised such as blood plasma and some antibiotics; and customised connectors, ports and closing systems designed to improve handling and safety.

PPS PET Packaging Solution offers wide-mouth jars and bottles with capacities from 75ml to 5500ml. They can be supplied with a screw closure with or without tamper evidence, a snap-on closure with or without a sensitive layer, or IHS-layer, or with a metal closure.

Rommelag’s invention of aseptic blow-fill-seal technology (BFS) is used with liquids, creams and ointments. It has developed a new generation of BFS Bottelpack aseptic machines and enhanced its BFS 4010M aseptic machine for producing ampoules with calibrated Luer connection. The machine, which has a separate punch unit, can produce bottles or ampoules with various shapes and sizes, made from LDPE, HDPE or PP. Closure options include twist-off, KME and Eurohead.

Sarong sells vertical thermoform, fill and seal machines and films for pharma suppository and unit doses. Stand-up packs with a flat bottom similar to a blow moulded bottle, and two components packs, filled with different liquids inside, are also possible. Horizontal thermoform machines for unit doses with top lidding foil for creams and liquids complete the line-up. Packaging materials are produced at a new plant according to ISO 900 in addition to lamination, printing and slitting of foils.

Romaco Group is showing continuous and intermittent motion cartoners by Promatic. The PC 4000 series can output up to 420 folded cartons/min and Promatic P91S series up to 140 cartons/min.

Cham Paper Group recently entered new partnerships with Guk, Nampak and Xerox to strengthen its position in the pharma market. Its special Pharmacar range for pharmaceutical leaflets will be seen in simulated production on purpose-equipped machines on the stand.

Farmo Res packaging machines are designed for pharmaceutical products in trays such as vials, ampoules, syringes, and liquid unit dose lines. Loaders or robots are dedicated to the product type and servo driven motors offer high productivity. Vision and printing equipment can be integrated into systems that can be set up for handling data and tracking.

Visitors can also inspect the new Laetus Printspect marking and verification machine for folded boxes. Various configurations are possible for top and side applications, including dual print and verification on side and top surfaces of a pack, says the company.

Marking Products’ high definition inkjet marking V5 Series prints text and graphics at around 200dpi and 70mm high directly onto packaging. Every unit can independently drive up to four printheads to be able to mark the product packaging and the packaging container with the same marking system.

Producing labels and printing forthe pharma sector represents 80% of the work carried out by Neri Labels. It prints flexo, serigraphic, typographic and heat transfer, with batch traceability from raw material to finished product using RFID-based systems.

Nimax is showing inkjet printers, laser coders for indelible printing, thermal transfer for printing on films, end of line, low and high-resolution systems and its new thermal inkjet technology for cartons and blister packs. Inkjet and laser products can be supplied with validation packs for GAMP and 21-CFR part 11 compliance.

Wipotec OCS checkweighers feature intelligent weigh cells and can operate at more than 600 pieces/min. Track and trace, open flap control, camera inspection and laser and inket marking can be incorporated in one compact machine, says the company. The HC Avantgarde, for example, aims to fulfill all requirements on pharmaceutical filling and packaging lines.

Scanware Electronic, of Germany, has produced what it believes is the first system for 3D image capture and inspection, ‘which creates whole new possibilities for quality control in packaging logistics’. The range includes high resolution camera-based colour and B&W vision system for 100% inline and offline inspection of products and packages; and high speed code readers for use throughout the packaging process.

Agent Soitra will display Uhlmann’s response market needs in the new Blister Express Center 300 geared to frequent and quick format changeovers. The compact BEC300 produces up to 300 blisters and 150 cartons/min.

It will also showcase Sepha’s BlisterScan offering non-destructive leak testing for blisterpacks suitable for valuable and fragile product due to a gentle cutting action for tablets and capsules. The Press-Out semi-automatic machine empties deblistering machine tablets and capsules from reject blisterpacks at up to 40 blisters/minute.

Cap producer Phaba has introduced products made from biodegradable raw material. An extensive company portfolio includes polypropylene threaded caps, childproof and tamper-evident caps, PP and aluminium caps, and plastic and glass canulas and graduated spoons. It also supplies dehydrating closure caps to preserve active ingredients, vitamin pots, bottles, pots, and ointment jars.


All-Fill International’s Micro-Filler for the precision dosing of powders and granules. All-Fill

All-Fill All-Fill


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