Bosch Introduces Continuous OSD Manufacturing Platform

Bosch Packaging Technology introduced the Xelum platform for the continuous production of oral solid-dosage (OSD) forms at interpack 2017, the company announced on May 8, 2017. The platform combines dosing, mixing, granulating, and tableting in a continuous process. The Xelum platform uses the granulation technology developed by the Bosch subsidiary Hüttlin, which produces a unimodal particle size distribution, good flow and tableting properties of the granules, and high product yields.

“Future-proof manufacturing systems must work efficiently, be user-friendly, and fulfill the requirements of all pharmaceutical companies. This includes shorter development times with less API consumption, a faster transfer from development to production, more flexible batch sizes, as well as the integration of quality assurance into the process,” Fritz-Martin Scholz, product manager at Bosch Packaging Technology, explained in the press release. “On the basis of our innovative granulation technology, we developed a new system for continuous production, which also enables manufacturers to precisely dose even the smallest amounts of API.”

The continuous process of the Xelum platform provides either a direct transfer without scale-up from R&D to production or supports the development process with an integrated, automated design-of-experiments function. Using intelligent sensors, all ongoing processes can be recorded inline, and the quality characteristics can be controlled at any stage of production. The design of the system ensures that no complex measurement or control technology is required. Up to the final dosage form, all ingredients can be easily traced back due to the controlled product flow through the system.