Machinery Update | November / December 2020

42 MACHINERY UPDATE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 www.machineryupdate.co.uk
Feature: Pharmaceuticals
Technology that’s
helping in the race
to conquer COVID
No pharmaceuticals
feature written in 2020
can fail to mention the
collective endeavour
to discover an effective
vaccine against COVID-19 and
equipment from across the board
has been installed to help meet this
goal, as well as packing C-19 test kits.
For instance, OPTIMA is
supporting Catalent with fast
track delivery of a new highspeed
vial filling line for a C-19
vaccine programme and Minebea
Intec’s products have ensured
reliable weighing results, precise
dosing and rapid transmission
of the measured data during the
production of the first batches of
potential vaccine at the biotech
company CanSino.
In terms of testing, initial
discussions in March, closely
followed by multiple machine
orders placed, has seen Paramount
Packaging Systems install three
Fuji systems specifically for
packing rapid antibody lateral flow
tests, with a further three to be
installed by the end of the year.
It comes as the UK’s lateral flow
device manufacturers scaled up
their production capacities in
response to the dramatic increase
in demand which meant more
efficient lines were needed to
process a higher volume of packs
at significantly faster rates.
RAPID ANTIBODY TESTING
All six Fuji packaging systems will
be used for the packing of rapid
antibody tests, which identify the
body’s response to coronavirus
after the onset of infection, in less
than 20 minutes.
In addition, another wrapper was
supplied to an existing customer
who manufactures respiratory care
products, to be used in critical care
units in hospitals. In response to
the increasing capacity demands,
Fuji increased its level of European
stock machines, enabling the UK
company to react quickly.
Meanwhile, three custom feeding
Helping the
global goal
Equipment to pack
the vaccine and the
all-important test
kits at speed is an
important piece of
the fight against
COVID-19 jigsaw
and counting systems that were
designed to help make test kits
for COVID-19 have been supplied
by Longford Europe in doublequick
time.
Specialist diagnostics company
LumiraDx UK had already installed
a custom-designed system a couple
of years ago but had an urgent need
at the beginning of lockdown to
boost the manufacturing and R&D
facilities at its Stirling, Scotland site.
The company contacted Longford at
the beginning of the UK lockdown
and had the new, bespoke systems
installed in under four months.
Counting is an important part
of the all-in-one process with
high throughput achievable,
and the system utilises a side to
More pharma technology
and advice on meeting EU MDR
regs is on the following 15 pages
side shift catch tray which allows
the operator to manually load
cartons while the system counts
the next batch.
“We are pleased yet humbled to
play a very modest role in helping
LumiraDx in its endeavour to beat
this horrific illness, the kits it
makes will help tremendously in
this cause,” says Graham Collisson
of Longford Europe.
Finally, Cobra Biologics and
Watson-Marlow Fluid Technology
Group (WMFTG) discussed the
challenges of vaccine production
and how to accelerate large scale
vaccine manufacturing on
a Webinar in September.
Strategies for vaccine production,
while maintaining critical quality
standards were discussed and
further details can be found on
WMFTG’s website.
W www.longfordint.com
W www.minebea-intec.com
W www.optima-packaging.com
W www.paramount-packaging.co.uk
W www.wmftg.co.uk