Bosch to lay out new filling and packaging wares at Interpack
recently launched processing and packaging solutions at the
Interpack 2008 exhibition in Düsseldorf, Germany this April,
including a new line for high-potency compounds.
Joining Bosch's GKF line of capsule fillers will be GKF HiProTect, an integrated containment capsule-filling system for processing potent substances. The existing Bosch line ranges from the GKF 700, which can process up to 42,000 capsules per hour, to the high-speed GKF 3000, with a capacity of up to 175,000 capsules per hour. The new machine, which offers a fully integrated 100 per cent check weighing system as well as integrated wash-in-place and clean-in-place options, "answers the growing need for pharmaceutical researchers and manufacturers to be completed protected from active substances during operation, maintenance and cleaning", Bosch said. Recent years have seen increased demand in the pharmaceutical industry for high-potency active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) such as cytotoxics, creating a niche for contract manufacturers. In parallel, rising investment in high-potency production has pushed containment issues to the fore. Occupational exposure to even tiny quantities of some cytotoxics can be life-threatening. Also on display at Interpak will be Bosch Packaging Technologies' FXS 2010 and FXS 5100 machines for filling and sealing pre-sterilised nested syringes. The FXS series was launched in 2006, based on the modular function approach used for in-line syringe filling machines. The FXS 2010 is fully automatic and is designed for filling nested syringes with volumes ranging from 0.5 millilitres to 50 millilitres in a tub such as BD Hypak SCF. It has a performance output of up to 4,800 syringes per hour. All the product contacting parts are made of stainless steel and the machine is easily operated by means of a touch panel. The transportation system and each pump are individually controlled by servo motors, while the nests are placed in and removed from the machine manually. The FXS 5100 has an output of up to 30,000 syringes per hour, also handling volumes from 0.5 millilitres up to 50 millilitres. The system offers "extreme filling needle precision" and is adaptable to different formats and products, Bosch notes. The VRK 4120 capping system for vials, which Bosch will be presenting at Interpak 2008, is a line extension featuring precision vial placement via an infeed wheel. Overseal capping is performed by sealing rollers, "guaranteeing negligible particle generation", the company says. The new machine features 12 closing heads with a processing range of between two and 500 millilitres, giving a maximum output of 27,000 vials per hour. A monitoring system checks and confirms vial rotation, and vials are rejected when stoppers and caps are found missing. Sigpack Systems, a subsidiary of Bosch Packaging Technology, will be showcasing its award-winning Burgopack system, which features a patented sliding mechanism suitable for pharmaceutical packaging formats. According to Sören Bräutigam, director of global marketing for Bosch Packaging Technology, the company's packaging and processing technology is oriented around "a holistic approach that allows manufacturers to make strategic, long-term decisions when acquiring a piece of capital equipment". Flexibility is also key, enabling manufacturers to "proactively respond to market trends in this sometimes volatile sector", Bräutigam commented. "We are not just machine builders, we are long-term partners who help companies compete and grow in a crowded market space."
