Counting Down the Top 10 Articles of 2020 - #10: Ramping COVID-19 Test Medium Production

Join us as we look back at the most-read Healthcare Packaging stories of 2020. At #10 is this article about Thermo Fisher’s journey to ramp test medium to the millions per week for public health needs.

Dec 21st, 2020

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In our top 10 of 2020, we take a look back Thermo Fisher Scientific’s incredibly fast production ramp-up of viral transport media tubes from 50,000/week to 10 million/week in six months. The effort was remarkable, and made possible by collaboration efforts between the brand owner, OEMs, and partners.

Remote installation and use of Microsoft's Holo Lens also played a role due to travel bans affecting employees in based in Europe. Recently, PMMI released two related resources to help companies navigate this “new to some” virtual arena: the Virtual Factory Acceptance Test (vFAT) guide from the OpX Leadership Network and the Trends in Adoption of Remote Access report.

Continue to the full article here: COVID-19 Test Medium Production Ramped Up By 20,000% in Six Months.

The syringes and needles that Sharp packs are manually inserted into preformed, automatically fed blisters on the KDT medplus.

Turntable Machine Packages Prefilled Syringes

Implementing new equipment for a customer packaging prefilled syringes, Sharp implemented a machine offering energy efficiency, flexibility, and easy handling.

Njm Coolvacuum Lyo Compact

NJM Freeze-drying Equipment Includes Variety of Lyophilization Solutions

Is built for pharmaceutical and biotech R&D, scale-up, and commercial lines

TekniPlex Healthcare to Showcase Drug Transfer Tubing & Coated Barrier Products

The company also will highlight the benefits of its recent reorganization into a more cohesive business unit, which will benefit its customers in several ways, including streamlined customer servicing.

Romaco Macofar Oftalmica

Romaco Macofar Liquid Filling Machine Meets GMP Requirements

Is designed for the aseptic filling of sterile eye drops, nasal sprays, and injectables

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Case Sealer

With belt speeds up to 155 fpm, Signode’s LDX-RTB 4.0 semi-automatic random case sealer features patented technology that enables processing of void-filled and over-stuffed cases with a pneumatic top cartridge.

5 ways to embrace sustainability in healthcare packaging

5 ways to embrace sustainability in healthcare packaging

Identify improvement opportunities at every stage of your packaging’s lifecycle. The time to act is now!

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TurboFil Assembly and Vial Filling Station for Unidose Liquid Nasal Applicators

Capable of accommodating special-design vials, the module increases throughput for product development.

Back to Basics: ISTA Standards 20 and 7E

The ISTA Pharma Committee recently held a virtual Technical Exchange to help shape the future of ISTA Standard 20 and 7E. Plus, a preview of the 2022 ISTA Forum's TempPack and training sessions taking place April 11-13 in San Diego, CA.

Vitaquest delivers innovation in nutraceutical development by providing turnkey nutritional manufacturing solutions across a broad range of herbal, vitamin, protein, and probiotic custom formulations.

Vitaquest Gets Flexibility, Scalability From Mobile Powder Conveyors

The contract manufacturer of nutraceuticals and functional foods typically opts for vacuum conveyor technology. The mobile version maximizes production versatility, making cleaning and changeovers easier.

Wipotec-OCS HC-FL-T catchweigher

Wipotec-OCS to Debut Predictive Maintenance Capabilities for Catchweighers

Solution uses historical analytics to predict component performance, streamlining and customizing maintenance for decreased downtime.

Videojet and ESS worked together to ensure the carton arrived at the coder in the right orientation. (Image credit: ESS Technologies, Inc.)

Cartoning and Coding Line Delivers COVID-19 Vaccine Vials

Equipment for cartoning, serializing, and case packing vials was designed and delivered in just a few short months.

5 ways to embrace sustainability in healthcare packaging

5 ways to embrace sustainability in healthcare packaging

Identify improvement opportunities at every stage of your packaging’s lifecycle. The time to act is now!

The BEC 300 is a compact combination of a blister and cartoning module.

CDMO Rottendorf Pharma Purchases Five New Packaging Lines

Due to the significant increase in demand for CDMO services, the company selected: four BEC 300 blister lines and one Integrated Bottle Center (IBC) from Uhlmann Pac-Systeme GmbH & Co. KG.

Tetris Pharma Building Out Pan-European Platform

The company will be partnering with Sharp to support Tetris Pharma’s contract packaging needs for its lead product, a pre-filled glucagon pen.

ImpacX Smart Bottle

Desert Harvest Supplements Phasing in Two New Sustainable Packaging Formats

The supplement and skincare company will soon begin using compostable plant-based bags and refillable smart bottles for the brand’s entire supplement line.

The new line at Kutol handles plastic bottles ranging from 1-oz to half-gallon sizes.

New Filler Boosts Capacity

Installing a fifth filling line will help this leading manufacturer of commercial skin care products address the current demand for hand sanitizer and meet future customer needs.

Pouch Machine for Medical Products

Shawpak’s 4SS 4-side seal pouch machine is designed to pack medical products up to 5mm in thickness, at rates up to 4000/hr and can also produce 3-side seals for manual packaging lines.

Recipharm Secures Vaccine Manufacturing Deal

In accordance with the agreement, the company will aseptically pack single-use vaccines used to treat a severe infectious disease that affects both young children and infants.

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Report: Innovative New Pharma & Medical Devices at PACK EXPO Las Vegas

PMMI Media Group editors fanned out across the many booths at PACK EXPO Las Vegas to bring you this Innovations Report. Here’s what they saw in the pharma and medical devices categories.

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Cartoners for Pharma, Personal Care Applications

IWK Packaging Systems introduces the VI 5 (shown) intermittent and VC 5 continuous motion vertical cartoners designed for packaging a variety of pharma or personal care containers.

More in Packaging/Filling

V Shapes Alpha Flex Dosing And Delivery System

Dosing and Delivery System Enables On-demand Production of Single-dose Sachets

Gives complete manufacturing control back to the brand owners and co-packers

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Pacteon Acquires ESS Technologies, Provider of Automated Packaging Machinery Solutions to the Pharma & Diagnostic Markets

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Marchesini Group: Turbo-Emulsifier for Liquid and Cream Products

The new TURBO-MEK 1000 has been designed to accommodate hygiene and cleaning guidelines with energy and water savings during wash cycles.

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IMA Group: Paper Tray Packaging System

Robotic Nest Steriline Araymond

Steriline/ARaymondLife/Stevanato Group: Robotic Nest Filling Machine

The Robotic Nest Filling Machine works with the RayDyLyo all-in-one closure system developed by AraymondLife, integrating a plastic push-fit cap as an alternative to aluminium caps, and the SG EZ-fill® vials in nest by Stevanato Group.

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Workforce News Roundup: 2021

While science, technology, and regulations are often the focus, people are critical to a successful packaging operation. Check out articles, podcasts, and videos from Healthcare Packaging and sister publications Packaging World and OEM.

MG America: Capsule Checkweigher

The new KWS features capsule transport that is vertically oriented resulting in eliminated "pinch" points for capsules, and toolless changeover that takes place in under five minutes.

PALACOS® pro is designed to revolutionize the mixing and application of bone cement, as it is easier and safer to use than previous systems.

Bone Cement Set Features Automated Assembly and Packaging Line

Heraeus Medical’s new bone cement system supplied by Optima Automation offers higher process reliability with automated component feeding that minimizes operator intervention.

Versynta microBatch is a highly flexible fully automated production cell with a gloveless isolator, the smallest possible dimensions, and a complete batch-to-batch changeover of less than two hours.

Syntegon and Vetter Won a PDA Drug Delivery Innovation Award for Versynta microBatch

Versynta microBatch is a highly flexible fully automated production cell with a gloveless isolator, the smallest possible dimensions, and a complete batch-to-batch changeover of less than two hours.

Syntegon Enters Into Strategic Partnership with Bayer

The partnership will expand the development of new continuous manufacturing processes for oral solid dosage (OSD) forms.

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IMA Group Showcased at CPhI Milan 2021

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Short Term Reshoring the Catalyst For Longer Term Manufacturing Innovations By 2030

China and the U.S. predicted to lead innovation by 2030 in an age of mass personalized therapeutics, cobots, AI, and automation delivering process improvements.