Nuremberg gets ready for “Pharma. Manufacturing. Excellence”

• TechnoPharm 2014 provides answers for big questions in pharmaceutical production
• A supporting programme of high-innovation topics
• Advance online ticket sales start on 19 August 2014

Under its slogan, “Pharma. Manufacturing. Excellence,” TechnoPharm will again be opening its doors in Nuremberg from 30 September to 2 October 2014, for those in the field to learn the latest about development and production in solid, semi-solid and liquid pharmaceuticals. Validation, packaging and  anti-counterfeiting are only a few of the current topics that the roughly 250 exhibitors will present for operators and planners of production facilities in the pharmaceutical industry. And many solutions with pharmaceutical relevance will also be on display from the more than 700 exhibitors at the parallel POWTECH, the world’s leading trade fair for processing, analysis and handling of powder and bulk solids. Visitors can buy tickets online starting on 19 August 2014 at www. technopharm.de/ticketshop. Buying tickets online gets you into the combined trade events faster and lets you bypass long queues at the box office.

It’s well known that the pharmaceutical industry is facing a great many challenges. Buzzwords like the “facility of the future,” more cost-effective production, greater flexibility, productivity standards compared to other industries, and “operational excellence” have been making the rounds. At the same time, demand is rising for single-use components – meaning that not only containers, tubes and valves, but even entire pumps are now available for one-time use. Successful development and adaptations of continuous systems, as well as microprocesses, have triggered lively interest and discussion. Experimental and producing systems are being developed and built at full speed. And there are still the perennial questions about scale-up, mixing effectiveness, online analysis, and automated process optimisation. The discussion of completely closed systems and process analytical technology (PAT) further highlights the ongoing efforts of manufacturers and systems operators to optimise work and achieve the greatest possible product purity and process reliability.

The clock keeps ticking

A further challenge for the pharmaceuticals industry is labelling requirements. Beginning in 2017, every package of prescription medications must have a unique serial number and tamper-proofing protection.

The broad range of urgent questions demands the most innovative, efficient technological answers possible. Those answers will be available from the exhibitors at TechnoPharm and POWTECH 2014 in Nuremberg. At TechnoPharm, some 250 exhibitors from about 15 countries will be offering a wide range of proposed solutions, under the slogan, “Pharma. Manufacturing. Excellence”.

Another very fruitful opportunity for planners and operators of pharmaceutical production systems: a visit to the parallel POWTECH, the world’s leading trade fair for processing, analysis and handling of powders and bulk solids. In 2013, nine out of ten exhibitors at POWTECH indicated they would present solutions relevant to the pharmaceutical industry. Only in Nuremberg do the topics of sterile technology and powder and granulate technology intermesh so perfectly. A full quarter of the more than 700 exhibitors at POWTECH will be showing process solutions that are suitable for the pharmaceutical industry’s rigorous hygienic requirements. Mills, mixers, sifters, filters and separators, agglomeration and granulation techniques, dryers, and also everything to do with handling, including pneumatic conveying, metering and containment – all these systems, apparatus and components that will be on display at POWTECH are also available in sterile versions. And not only are the materials, surfaces and seals here designed to the latest hygienic standards, but these systems and apparatus are also characterised by either freedom from dead spaces or reliable residue removal. The range of topics at POWTECH is an ideal complement to what TechnoPharm offers, and rounds it out perfectly with innovative solutions for producing and processing powders and granulates.

Highlights of the supporting programme

The AVP (International Association for Pharmaceutical Technology), which is also supporting the trade show as an honorary sponsor, is hard at work on an exclusive supporting programme for TechnoPharm 2014. Highlights of the forums in hall 6 include a one on serial numbering for pharmaceutical manufacturers, a lecture series by the German Packaging Institute, a report on orodispersible forms of medications, and a user report on hot melt extrusion from BASF SE. Again this year, there will be an expert forum with specialised presentations on all aspects of planning, building and operating clean and ultraclean rooms. Highlights here include a presentation from Boehringer Ingelheim comparing RABS (restricted access barrier systems) and isolators, as well as presentations on current government requirements for clean rooms. For more information about the supporting programme please go to www.technopharm.de/en/supporting-programme.