Automation Trends: Continuous Manufacturing

As more global companies strive for lower costs and stronger efficiencies throughout their network of plants and factories, the term "continuous manufacturing" takes on more relevance. At its most basic level, continuous manufacturing strives to connect the whole manufacturing process within a company, such as processing, packaging and a supply chain within a food company. No data silos.

Grant GerkeDigital Managing Editor

Dec 6th, 2010

Automation Worldreports on many of the tools that help manage "continuous manufacturing," such as Enterprise Resource Planning and Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) to name a couple.

For the pharma drug industry, continuous manufacturing includes R&D, drug synthesis, drug production and packaging, and distribution. Global pharma manufacturers want to link all these disciplines—and link individual plants and share info on an enterprise level—of the drug workflow to reduce costs because of intense price pressure and generic drugs denting profits.

The page below includes content centered around "continuous manufacturing," with links from around the web andAutomation World. Look for new articles, case studies, quotes, analysis and news.

> Healthcare Packaging's Top Ten in 2010
http://bit.ly/aroundweb_042

> Continuous Manufacturing in Pharma: Beginning to Snowball?
http://bit.ly/aroundweb_029

User comment, from "Continuous Manufacturing in Pharma: Beginning to Snowball?" Nov. 24, 2010:

The fundamental issue is “Process Understanding”. If one can develop adequate process understanding to make a continuous process work, then the current batch processes can become much more efficient..."

Quote from Continuous Manufacturing in Pharma: Beginning to Snowball?

"There are 'no regulatory hurdles' for industry to implement continuous practices," says Christine Moore, PhD, Deputy Director for Science and Policy for CDER’s Office of New Drug Quality Assessment, though providing a caveat: “There is a lack of experience [within and without FDA]; therefore we really need to work together as we move forward with these approaches, we recommend frequent and early conversations with our organization.”

> Process and Packaging: Different Worlds or Just Different Data?
Here's a story about breaking down "walls" between Processing and Packaging.
http://bit.ly/awfeature_009

> Pfizer Global Manufacturing Reconfigures Its Global Network
Here's a story about Pfizer implementing the first stage of a Plant Network Strategy, includes improving plant processes
and eliminating excess capacity due to generics.
http://bit.ly/aroundweb_030

> Continuous Granulation at AZ: Where It Fits in Tablet Manufacture
http://bit.ly/aroundweb_031