
Rutgers University Research Center and Janssen Develop Continuous Manufacturing Process
Rutgers engineers constructed a direct compaction line in collaboration with Janssen.
Researchers in the
C-SOPS, based on the Rutgers University campus and in partnership with Purdue University, The New Jersey Institue of Technology, and The University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez, brings together a cross-disciplinary group of engineers, scientists, and industry leaders from academia, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and equipment manufacturers. C-SOPS has been investigating continuous manufacturing concepts since 2006 and has worked on both the fundamental science and commercialization of advanced pharmaceutical manufacturing. The continuous direct compaction line replaces the traditional multi-stage batch process by integrating feeders, mills, blenders, and a tablet press into a single continuous process.
In developing the line, C-SOPS researchers defined parameters and performed design space experiments to evaluate the effect of parameter changes. “Because the process is continuous, we were able to measure parameter-change effects in nearly real time; we performed a full set of design experiments with dozens of conditions, in hours rather than days to weeks, and used a fraction of the API needed for batch processing,” explains Douglas Hausner, associate director for industrial relations and business development at C-SOPS.
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