Medical Device Link.

Originally Published PMPN March 2003

Show Coverage

IPIC Expands Its Reach

The International Pharmaceutical Industry Congress broadens its horizons with a new event and industry-produced conference programs.

For the second year, the International Pharmaceutical Industry Congress (IPIC) brings together three events: Pharma-IT Expo and Conference, Pharmaceutical Contract Services & Outsourcing Expo and Conference, and Interphex, now in its 24th year. But that’s not all. IPIC will also debut a fourth show—the Drug Science & Technology Summit.

With this latest addition, IPIC provides “end-to-end coverage for the entire pharmaceutical industry, from discovery through manufacturing and packaging,” says Kevin Richards, industry vice president for Reed Exhibitions. “We’re forecasting more than 950 vendors and suppliers exhibiting in all events and 18,000 attendees.” More than 150 of those vendors will be exhibiting packaging equipment, supplies, and services. 

This year’s event, which takes place March 31–April 2, 2003, at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City, will provide attendees with all the tools necessary to establish strategic alliances, sample the latest technologies, and learn from industry experts.

For the first time, IPIC will outsource its educational program. “We have three new education providers that are developing a program and conferences for IPIC,” says Richards. The most prominent of the three is the International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE), which will produce both the Interphex conference and the Pharmaceutical Contract Services & Outsourcing Symposium. Conference sessions of interest to packaging professionals include the Contract Services and Outsourcing session, “Outsourcing Packaging in the New Century,” held on Monday, March 31, and the Interphex session, “Packaging Line Scale-Up from a Manufacturing Technology Perspective,” held on Tuesday, April 1. 

The other two education providers are Reed Business Information Scientific Group, responsible for the Drug Science & Technology Summit conference, and the Institute for International Research, which is programming the Pharma-IT conference. 

Another first is the International Pharmaceutical Career Expo, which takes place April 1 and is sponsored by HireHealth.com. This expo will feature major pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies promoting open positions and conducting interviews.

For more information about this event or to register, call 888/334-8704, or visit the Web site at www. pharmacongress.net. 

Exhibitor Products

Thermal-Transfer Printer

A thermal-transfer printer provides multiple package coding and two-dimensional bar coding capabilities to Uhlmann, Klöckner, Bosch, and other companies’ blister packaging machines. The EasyPrint II mlp direct thermal system uses a traversing printhead that moves on a linear rail to code multiple packages in one pass. This traversing feature results in increased production and cost savings by replacing the hot-stamp ribbon and metal type. The printer is driven by a stepper motor with a PLC and offers an EPROM cartridge, which eliminates the need for in-field programming. Key features of the EasyPrint include integrated registration and 800-m ribbon capacity. The printhead has floating suspension for greater flexibility with substrates and low air-pressure detection for critical applications. Bell-Mark Corp., Pine Brook, NJ; 973/882-0202; www.bell-mark.com. 
Booth #379

Automation Technology

A company’s automation technology controls the newest generation of blister, liquid, transdermal, wrapping, pouching, cartoning, case packing, robotic, and related production machinery. Gen3 machines are designed from the ground up to take full advantage of integrated control systems that increase throughput and flexibility, reduce mechanical and control complexity, simplify CGMP validation, and offer a standards-based alternative to proprietary architectures. According to the company, PacDrive control architecture is used by 35% of the top packaging machinery suppliers in Europe, including primary manufacturers of machinery for advanced drug- delivery systems and unit-dose packaging. Elau Inc., Chicago, IL; 773/342-8400; www.pacdrive.com/gen3. 
Booth #2350

Blister Packaging

A company offers wallets in pocket-size formats for tablet blisters. The NeoWallet can be printed on the outside as well as the inner surfaces of the blanks, and a leaflet or booklet can be included. The company offers compact, variable-format, customized, and configurable lines for automatic packaging. All sides of the Walletpack can be preprinted with instructions, pictograms, etc. The printed paperboard blanks are taken from the hopper and transferred onto a vacuum conveyor. Many different types of components can be fitted to the machine, depending on the application. They include bar code readers with a reject station, leaflet and blister hoppers with inserters, labeling stations for applying the sealing label, etc. Dividella AG, Grabs, Switzerland; +41 81 750 3366; www.dividella.com. 
Booth #257 

Wrappers

A wrapper is designed specifically for the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries. The multipacker has a small footprint and consists of the infeed, collation, wrapper, and tunnel. The machine is less than 8 ft long and operates at speeds up to 30 cycles per minute. It offers versatility in pack patterns, ranging from 2- to 24-pack configurations, and is capable of handling various product sizes ranging from ¾ to more than 4 in. in diameter. For stabilized collation, a preprogrammed motorized pusher assembly with both acceleration and deceleration provides controlled transfers. Other machine features are easy-load film, built-in operational monitoring, and tool-free changeovers. The company will be exhibiting the pharmaceutical multipacker at DT Industries’ booth. PolyPack Inc., Pinellas Park, FL; 727/ 578-5000; info@polypack.com.  
Booth #655

Bottle Packaging and Fillers

Low- to medium-speed turnkey bottle packaging lines for tablets and capsules are suitable for contract packagers, nutritional supplement manufacturers, and clinical trial operations. The Valu Line has a design speed of 50 bottles per minute, and systems are available in speeds of 50, 80, 100, and 120 bottles per minute. It includes a Kalish K-100 unscrambler, Swiftpack Swiftvision electronic filler, Kalish cottoner 90, Kalish Orquit, and third-party integrated components. All Valu Line systems also include specifications, drawings, project management, and project engineering. The company also offers liquid fillers with a simple design for fast cleanup and no-tools changeover. The fillers are modular and are capable of expanding with production demands. They can handle liquid consistencies as thin as water and as thick as syrup. DT Packaging Systems, Leominster, MA; 978/537-8534; dtpssales@dtindustries.com. 
Booth #655

Optically Variable Devices

A company designs and man-ufactures optically variable devices. Available features include Trustseal, a proprietary device based on diffractive optics; holograms, available in 2-D, 2-D/3-D, and dot matrix; hot-stamping foil with a continuous design or registered image design; embossed label stock, available in different thicknesses, with or without tamper-evident features; and fully-metallized, transparent, or partially metallized foils. Optional security features include serial numbering, partial demetallization, nanotext, and hidden images. The company’s new products include Holo-Blister foil and Holo-Shrink sleeves. Kurz Transfer Products, Charlotte, NC; 800/333-2306; www.kurzusa.com. 
Booth #263

Blister Foil

A child-resistant blister foil offers two-sided printing capabilities, which provides additional room for both text and graphics. The company also offers a complete range of blister materials, including push-through, paper-back, and child-resistant laminations, as well as cold-formable foil. A security packaging material, Protecco, features special elements such as holograms, microtext printing, and other anticounterfeiting features. Hueck Foils LLC, Wall, NJ; 732/974-2694; angela. roggenhofer@hueckfoils.com.  
Booth #834

Capsule Fillers

A continuous-motion capsule filler is capable of delivering top speed for powder, single-pellet, or dual- pellet applications. The MG2 G250 offers complete precision handling and fill-weight accuracy with 100% on-board “NETT” weight control on sustained runs of up to 200,000 capsules per hour. The company will also display its MG2 G140 capsule filler, the MG2 Futura capsule filler, the MAB B30 automatic palletizer, the MAB B15 intermittent cartoner, and the MAB GTL30 case packer. MG America, Fairfield, NJ; 973/808-8185; sales@mgamerica.com.  
Booth #619

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