Critical review on the role of excipient properties in pharmaceutical powder-to-tablet continuous manufacturing

13 Aug 2024 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Sara Fathollahi, Pauline H. M. Janssen, Bastiaan H. J. Dickhoff, Henderik W. Frijlink

The pharmaceutical industry is gradually changing batch-wise manufacturing processes to continuous manufacturing processes, due to the advantages it has to offer. The final product quality and process efficiency of continuous manufacturing processes is among others impacted by the properties of...

Process intensification of pharmaceutical powder blending at commercial throughputs by utilizing semi-continuous mini-blending

13 Aug 2024 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Maarten Jaspers, Florian Tegel, Timo P. Roelofs, Fabian Starsich, Yunfei Li Song, Bernhard Meir, Richard Elkes, Bastiaan H.J. Dickhoff

Process intensification involves the miniaturization of equipment while retaining process throughput and performance. The pharmaceutical industry can benefit from this approach especially during drug product development, where the availability of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) is often...

Delta-mannitol to enable continuous twin-screw granulation of a highly dosed, poorly compactable formulation

23 Jul 2024 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Vanhoorne, V., Almey, R., De Beer, T., Vervaet, C.

In current study, it was investigated if the moisture-mediated polymorphic transition from δ- to β-mannitol during twin screw granulation (TSG) also took place in high drug loaded formulations and if the specific granule morphology associated with the polymorphic transition could enable tableting...

Process analytics for the new era of continuous RNA manufacturing

23 Jul 2024 | Website | Contributor(s): Botonjic-Sehic, Edita

In this article, Edita Botonjic-Sehic, Head of Process Analytics and Data Science at ReciBioPharm, examines the need for a digitally controlled continuous manufacturing process to correct the shortcomings of the current standard of batch processing. She highlights the critical role in-line...

Control oriented modeling of twin-screw granulation in the ConsiGmaTM-25 production plant

09 Jul 2024 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Johannes Khinast, Martin Horn, Jakob Rehrl, Selma Celikovic, Johannes Poms

ConsiGmaTM-25 is a continuous production plant integrating a twin-screw granulation, fluid bed drying, granule conditioning, and a tableting unit. The particle size distribution (PSD), active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) content, and liquid content of wet granules after twin-screw...

Visualization and understanding of the granulation liquid mixing and distribution during continuous twin screw granulation using NIR chemical imaging

09 Jun 2023 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Vercruysse, Jurgen, Toiviainen, Maunu, Fonteyne, Margot, Helkimo, Niko, Ketolainen, Jarkko, Juuti, Mikko, Delaet, Urbain, Van Assche, Ivo, Remon, Jean Paul, Vervaet, Chris, De Beer, Thomas

Over the last decade, there has been increased interest in the application of twin screw granulation as a continuous wet granulation technique for pharmaceutical drug formulations. However, the mixing of granulation liquid and powder material during the short residence time inside the screw...

Using Residence Time Distributions (RTDs) to Address the Traceability of Raw Materials in Continuous Pharmaceutical Manufacturing

09 Jun 2023 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Engisch, William, Muzzio, Fernando

Continuous processing in pharmaceutical manufacturing is a relatively new approach that has generated significant attention. While it has been used for decades in other industries, showing significant advantages, the pharmaceutical industry has been slow in its adoption of continuous processing,...

Using online mass spectrometry to predict the end point during drying of pharmaceutical products

09 Jun 2023 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Dodda, Aditya G., Saranteas, Kostas, Henson, Michael A.

Drying of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) is an energy-intensive process that is often a manufacturing bottleneck due to the relatively long processing times. A key objective is the ability to determine the drying end point, the time at which all solvent has been evaporated from the...

Using residence time distribution in pharmaceutical solid dose manufacturing–A critical review

09 Jun 2023 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Bhalode, Pooja, Tian, Huayu Gupta, Shashwat Razavi, Sonia M Roman-Ospino, Andres Talebian, Shahrzad Singh, Ravendra Scicolone, James V Muzzio, Fernando J, Ierapetritou, Marianthi

While continuous manufacturing (CM) of pharmaceutical solid-based drug products has been shown to be advantageous for improving the product quality and process efficiency in alignment with FDA’s support of the quality-by-design paradigm (Lee, 2015; Ierapetritou et al., 2016; Plumb, 2005; Schaber,...

Use of the channel fill level in defining a design space for twin screw wet granulation

09 Jun 2023 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Gorringe, L. J., Kee, G. S., Saleh, M. F., Fa, N. H., Elkes, R. G.

Twin screw wet granulation is a key process in the continuous manufacture of oral solid dosage forms. Previous Research Article has qualitatively suggested that the channel fill level influences the granules produced. In this paper a quantitative measure of the total volumetric fraction of the...

Twin-screw melt granulation: Current progress and challenges

09 Jun 2023 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Kittikunakorn, Nada, Liu, Tongzhou, Zhang, Feng

Twin-screw melt granulation (TSMG) is a new alternative method for granulation that offers several advantages over wet and dry granulation methods. TSMG has rapidly gained interest over recent years in the pharmaceutical industry. Since it is an inherently continuous process with controlled...

Twin screw granulation - review of current progress

09 Jun 2023 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Thompson, M. R.

Twin screw granulation (TSG) is a new process of interest to the pharmaceutical community that can continuously wet granulate powders, doing so at lower liquid concentrations and with better product consistency than found by a high shear batch mixer. A considerable body of Research Article has...

TPLS as predictive platform for twin-screw wet granulation process and formulation development

09 Jun 2023 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Ryckaert, A., Van Hauwermeiren, D., Dhondt, J., De Man, A., Funke, A., Djuric, D., Vervaet, C., Nopens, I., De Beer, T.

In recent years, the interest in continuous manufacturing techniques, such as twin-screw wet granulation, has increased. However, the understanding of the influence of the combination of raw material properties and process settings upon the granule quality attributes is still limited. In this...

Transfer from High-Shear Batch to Continuous Twin Screw Wet Granulation: A Case Study in Understanding the Relationship Between Process Parameters and Product Quality Attributes

09 Jun 2023 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Beer, Paul, Wilson, David, Huang, Zhenyu, De Matas, Marcel

A twin screw to high-shear batch granulation technology switch was evaluated for a pharmaceutical development project. Differences in granule (particle size distribution and porosity) and tablet (dissolution) quality attributes were analysed for both continuous and batch technologies. Liquid to...

Twin screw granulation - review of current progress

09 Jun 2023 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Thompson, M. R.

Twin screw granulation (TSG) is a new process of interest to the pharmaceutical community that can continuously wet granulate powders, doing so at lower liquid concentrations and with better product consistency than found by a high shear batch mixer. A considerable body of Research Article has...

Towards a novel continuous HME-Tableting line: Process development and control concept

09 Jun 2023 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Sacher, Stephan, Celikovic, Selma, Rehrl, Jakob, Poms, Johannes, Kirchengast, Martin, Kruisz, Julia, Sipek, Martin, Salar-Behzadi, Sharareh, Berger, Hannes, Stark, Gerald, Horn, Martin, Khinast, Johannes G.

The objective of this study was to develop a novel closed-loop controlled continuous tablet manufacturing line, which first uses hot melt extrusion (HME) to produce pellets based on API and a polymer matrix. Such systems can be used to make complex pharmaceutical formulations, e.g., amorphous...

Towards 4th industrial revolution efficient and sustainable continuous flow manufacturing of active pharmaceutical ingredients

09 Jun 2023 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Sagandira, CR, Nqeketo, SMhlana, K, Sonti, T, Gaqa, S, Watts, P

Continuous flow chemistry has opened a new paradigm in both the laboratory and pharmaceutical industry. This review details the recently reported literature on continuous multistep telescoped synthesis of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), inline flow downstream processing, in-process...

Towards a Greener Pharmacy by More Eco Design

09 Jun 2023 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Baron, M

This review proposes an overview of the main trends explored by the pharmaceutical industry in order to develop a greener and smarter pharmacy minimizing any negative impact to the environment, and using more sustainable processes and drugs. If many drugs have their origin in nature, many active...

The synthesis of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) using continuous flow chemistry

09 Jun 2023 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Baumann, M, Baxendale, IR

The implementation of continuous flow processing as a key enabling technology has transformed the way we conduct chemistry and has expanded our synthetic capabilities. As a result many new preparative routes have been designed towards commercially relevant drug compounds achieving more efficient...

The Use of PAT and Off-line Methods for Monitoring of Roller Compacted Ribbon and Granule Properties with a View to Continuous Processing

09 Jun 2023 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): McAuliffe M.A.P., Omahony G.E., Blackshields C.A., Collins J.A., Egan D.P., Kiernan L., Oneill E., Lenihan S., Walker G.M., Crean A.M.

Real-time process monitoring using process analytical technology (PAT) tools can augment process understanding, enable improved process control, and hence facilitate the production of high-quality pharmaceutical products. While beneficial for batch processes, the availability of PAT tools to...

The reality of in-line tablet coating

09 Jun 2023 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Cahyadi, Christine, Chan, Lai Wah, Heng, Paul Wan Sia

The possibility of continuous processing in pharmaceutical tablet manufacturing is hampered by the viscoelastic recovery of tablets post-compaction. Compacted tablets are typically aged before coating to allow complete viscoelastic recovery so as to avoid subsequent coating defects. There has...

The Influence of Equipment Design and Process Parameters on Granule Breakage in a Semi-Continuous Fluid Bed Dryer after Continuous Twin-Screw Wet Granulation

09 Jun 2023 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Ryckaert, Alexander, Ghijs, Michael, Portier, Christoph, Djuric, Dejan, Funke, Adrian, Vervaet, Chris, De Beer, Thomas

The drying unit of a continuous from-powder-to-tablet manufacturing line based on twin-screw granulation (TSG) is a crucial intermediate process step to achieve the desired tablet quality. Understanding the size reduction of pharmaceutical granules before, during, and after the fluid bed drying...

The Future of Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Sciences

09 Jun 2023 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Rantanen, Jukka, Khinast Johannes

The entire pharmaceutical sector is in an urgent need of both innovative technological solutions and fundamental scientific work, enabling the production of highly engineered drug products. Commercial-scale manufacturing of complex drug delivery systems (DDSs) using the existing technologies is...

The effect of screw configuration and formulation variables on liquid requirements and granule quality in a continuous twin screw wet granulation process

09 Jun 2023 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Vandevivere, L., Van Wijmeersch, E., Hausler, O., De Beer, T., Vervaet, C., Vanhoorne, V.

The effect of two screw configurations with varying stagger angle was evaluated on the liquid amount required to produce good quality granules for a highly (mannitol-based) and a poorly (DCP-based) soluble formulation containing different binders. It is generally known that the use of a higher...

The impact of channel fill level on internal forces during continuous twin screw wet granulation

09 Jun 2023 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Torrecillas, Carlota Mendez, Gorringe, Lee J., Rajoub, Nazer, Robertson, John, Elkes, Richard G., Lamprou, Dimitrios A., Halbert, Gavin W

The forces experienced by the particles inside a twin screw granulator (TSG) are one of the most difficult parameters to measure quantitatively. However, it is possible to perform accurately this measurement through the use of dye containing calibrated microencapsulated sensors (LAMES) whose...