Pharmaceutical Technology Europe-04-01-2011

Having spent the last five years of my life in Tokyo, I wanted to start this month's Editor's comment by offering my very deepest sympathy to all those who have been affected by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

The main challenge for tablet manufacturers processing highly potent APIs (HPAPIs) is to protect equipment operators from the inhalation of airborne particles and prevent skin contact with the product during the entire production process: dispensing, granulation, tablet compression, coating and packaging.

Europe's approach to pharmacovigilance has room for improvement that European agencies are working on.

Pharmaceutical Technology Europe brings together suppliers of tabletting equipment and excipients to discuss the challenges, innovations and latest trends in the tabletting industry.

A round up of European news.

Particle characteristics can affect pharmaceutical formulations and products in a number of ways, and a variety of techniques are available that enable particle monitoring and characterisation.

The author reviews Warning Letters issued between 2000 and mid-2010 for aseptic processing and non-sterile processing, and determines how many observations were made for each section of the GMPs.