A Flexicon FMB210L fully automatic vial filling and screw capping machine from Watson-Marlow Fluid Technology Group (WMFTG) has boosted output by 300% at a major pharmaceutical company, dedicated to reducing the impact of allergies on sufferers. The new machine has been set to work producing a sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) product at a rate of 2,400 vials an hour.
UK-headquartered Allergy Therapeutics plc (LON:AGY) produces a wide range of aluminium-free allergy vaccines and diagnostics for customers across Europe and further afield in markets such as Canada, South Korea and Hong Kong. Sales currently stand at circa £50 million a year. The company has a special focus on allergy vaccination – also known as specific immunotherapy or desensitisation therapy – which is a treatment that deals with the underlying cause of allergies and not just the symptoms.
Central to manufacturing operations at Allergy Therapeutics is the ability to fill and cap product vials at throughput rates that match market demand. With this in mind, the company recently sought to enhance its operations in two areas.
Firstly, we researched the market for robust components (vial and cap) to help progress the filling of our sublingual products, explains the company’s head of Manufacturing and Technology, Rick Poland. Secondly, we wanted to invest in an automatic filling and capping machine with faster throughput capacity.
Having identified suitably robust 10cc vial and screw-cap components, Allergy Therapeutics set about reviewing various filling and capping machine manufacturers against a comprehensive user-requirement specification.