Continuous manufacturing in the life sciences sector

The UK has one of the strongest and most competitive life sciences industries in the world. The sector has annual turnover of more than £50bn, employs over 180,000 in 4,400 companies and attracts a huge amount of direct foreign investment.

But expiring patents, rising costs and a competitive marketplace mean that UK life sciences and pharmaceutical manufacturers need to change their practices if they are to maintain their world-leading position. This means increasing the use of automation on the factory floor – and a number of novel applications have already proven the importance of investment in such technologies.

One of the major shifts is to abandon batch processing and embrace a more continuous approach to manufacturing. This allows for an uninterrupted flow in the process from putting together the starting materials to creating the final product. By getting rid of individual batches, manufacturers can create more products for less cost while producing higher-quality drugs.

The technology also takes up less space. Siemens claims its oral solid dose continuous manufacturing unit occupies a space that is just a tenth of what is needed for traditional batch process equipment.