GEA Pharma Systems has opened a new chapter in its Indian
marketing activities with a recent order from Alpa Laboratories for its new
FlexStream granulation technology. This is the first time GEA Pharma
Systems has sold a FlexStream™ fluid bed system that was manufactured wholly in
India to European-standard specifications. The new technology offers Alpa
Laboratories European-quality manufacturing at a price performance level that
is affordable in its local market.
Alpa Laboratories Limited from Indore in Madhya Pradesh is a
company specialising in pharmaceutical manufacturing and exports and listed on
National Stock Exchange of India and Mumbai Stock Exchange. The order
demonstrates a progressive attitude by Alpa Labs to invest in leading edge
capital equipment to enhance its manufacturing facility. It also opens up
the market in India for GEA to include smaller niche manufacturers within its
sales and marketing plans.
Alpa Laboratories has been operating since the 1960s and
ranks around 150th in the listings of India’s pharmaceutical
manufacturers. Alpa is venturing into regulated markets of Europe and North
America with its range of products from the new manufacturing
facility. Until it received this order, GEA Pharma Systems was working on
the assumption that its high level technology would appeal only to the top 20
companies in the market. The forward-thinking vision of Alpa has changed
its mind.
The company invested in GEA’s FlexStream™ technology to
manufacture granules for hormone production. Previously the intention of
ALPA Labs was to handle this highly toxic material using conventional
isolators, however by investing in FlexStream™ Alpa has, at a stroke, improved
containment within the factory, improved the quality and consistency of its
product, and significantly improved productivity. By investing in the
FlexStream™ technology ALPA Labs has ensured that it is in the top league of
modern manufacturing facilities of the world.
The system also provides 10-bar explosion protection, so if
an incident occurred, all the API (Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients) would be
retained within the machine thereby reducing the risk of exposure to operators
and avoiding releases to the atmosphere. An automated cleaning regime provides
significantly reduced cleaning cycle times.
FlexStream™ is the latest in fluid bed technology, providing
granulation, drying and coating all in a single process. Features such as
automatic side discharge were important to Alpa Labs as it facilitates
contained transfer to the next process. FlexStream™ also prevents the
uncontrolled over-wetting of particles by using a protective air stream taken
from the normal process air. As no compressed air is required, fewer
particles are destroyed in the process and the system is more energy efficient.
The system is also easy to switch between use as a dryer, a granulator or a
coater. Impressive test data proves that, in addition to those commercial
benefits, FlexStream™ gives superior product quality when compared with
conventional top-spray granulation.
Mr. Paresh Chawla (Director) from Alpa Labs explained the
benefits of using FlexStream™ from his point of view. He said that, for
product quality to be maintained it was important for the equipment used in
manufacture to reproduce the original formulation accurately. “Using the
GEA equipment means that our quality will not be compromised. It gives us
an increased security of outcome with better homogeneity and consistency. This
latest 10 bar fluid bed technology also inherently addresses containment and
explosion risk at source, unlike conventional vented systems”
GEA is delighted with the order which represents the first of
its kind for FlexStream™ equipment manufactured solely in its Indian
factory. Navin Lakhanpaul, Regional Manager for GEA Pharma Systems in
India, was also pleased that a niche manufacturer such as Alpa had appreciated
the benefits of its advanced engineering. “We thought we were only targeting
the top 20 companies in India. This order has opened up a whole new market
segment for us. It shows that we can supply European-quality equipment,
manufactured in and serviced from India, at a price performance level that is
affordable across a larger Indian pharmaceutical customer base. It’s very
exciting.”
It has, of course, opened up new markets for Alpa
too. “We now have the opportunity to supply our products and offer our
manufacturing facilities to the European market. That would certainly have
been more challenging with our old manufacturing systems.”
This latest FlexStream™ technology manufactured by GEA will
be displayed on the GEA Pharma Systems stand at the P-MEC India exhibition
((hall 6, stand A1) in Mumbai 1st to 3rd Dec. For more
information about P-MEC India and GEA Pharma Systems please visit our website:
http://www.gea-pharma.in/
END
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Steve Jordan
The Words Workshop Ltd.
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Tel: +44 1908 695500
Business enquiries to:
Navin Lakhanpaul
Regional Manager
GEA Pharma Systems (India) Private Limited
Block No.8,
P.O. Dumad, Savli Road. Vadodara - 39174
Tel :
+91(0) 265 3061 700. Fax : +91 (0) 265 3061 755 /
756
Editor’s note:
GEA Pharma Systems is dedicated to innovation and thereby
providing durable quality through its well-established brands:
Aeromatic-Fielder™ and Collette™ - batch and continuous granulation,
drying, pelletizing and coating; Buck® - contained materials handling; Courtoy™
- tablet compression; and Lyophil™ - pharmaceutical freeze drying.