ACHEMA in Short

It’s the last day at ACHEMA! With a few more hours left before the show draws to a close, here’s a brief summary of the key trends observed during the week.

Gone are the days of the blockbusters. The pharmaceutical industry is definitely moving towards personalized medicines. As therapies become more targeted to a specific population, batch sizes are getting smaller.  And pharmaceutical manufacturers are consequently looking for flexibility in their production lines, such as short changover times, easy cleaning of equipment and machinery, and process automation to name a few. The industry is beginning to recognize the advantages of modular production plants. The personalized medicines era is also driving up the number of highly potent drug products, resulting in a demand for containment solutions and isolators.  

In bioprocesssing, single use has no doubt made significant in roads, more so upstream than downstream. Single use suppliers now have a good understanding of their materials, hence the risk of extractables and leachables isn’t so much of an issue as before. Of course, challenges still exist, such as the lack of standardization and guidance from regulators.

Not only is pharmaceutical manufacturing is advancing but there is significant progress observed in bioprocessing as well. It is all because of the innovators who are constantly finding solutions to common problems. ACHEMA has indeed provided a platform for the process industry to showcase its technologies. So as we say goodbye to the show, and as exhibitors pack up and go their separate ways, here’s to all the engineers and scientists who have made a difference in the industry.