Medical Device Link.

Originally Published PMPN September 2003

NEWS

Containment installations will be a major service of the pharmaceutical packaging industry in the coming years, according to officials at IMA North America Inc. (Bristol, PA).

The increasing potency and toxicity of many newer drug products has prompted more regulatory concern over operator exposure levels, IMA’s Robert Hatala told attendees at the firm’s solid-dose symposium and open house, held June 17-18 at its U.S. headquarters in Bristol.

To ensure safety during the encapsulation, compression, and filling processes, there needs to be complete separation between the production area and the mechanical area, and a fully automated cleaning system. So, Hatala said, IMA has partnered with other firms to integrate containment technology, featuring rapid-transfer ports and glove ports, with its equipment. “Containment technology gives a proven solution to the demands of an emerging trend in our customers’ activities,” he added.

Jens Torkel, IMA’s vice president for solid dose, said the ability to add isolation technology to other machines is part of the firm’s philosophy of “developing something for one application and adapting it to other solutions or problem areas.”

The event also allowed IMA to show off its new 42,000-sq-ft U.S. headquarters, opened within the past year. The facility includes a machine shop for customer applications, a repository for spare parts, offices for sales and service personnel, and a training center for customers. It also has enough space to erect lines for demonstrations, trials, and factory acceptance tests. The major design and development work is performed at the firm’s world headquarters in Italy.

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