Some filling and packaging challenges need to be dealt with even faster than others. To do this, short delivery times are needed, and this can only be achieved with standardized machine solutions. That is why the tried-and-tested OPTIMA Moduline filling and closing machine is now also available with preconfigured machine modules. The result is a whole host of advantages for machine users.

For Optima Pharma, from the very beginning digitalization has meant what we implement will create added value for you, our customers. We have developed a broad portfolio of digital solutions with this goal in mind. These solutions are used successfully in the initial systems. Optima has also undergone a massive upgrade in terms of cybersecurity. In the following article, read how pharmaceutical production has become more secure and more efficient in the areas of production data management, maintenance, operator guidance and knowledge transfer.

A range of test formats are used in diagnostics to detect acute infection and prevent the uncontrolled spread of the SARS-CoV-2 pathogen. At the Marburg site, Siemens Healthineers have recently started a very high quality PCR test on an OPTIMA ImmuFill®. This machine achieves high precision reagent dosing into containers from a dosing volume of 50 µl upwards, and these are then closed and labelled.

When systems have seen better days, action is needed. Often numerous parts in the control cabinet are outdated. Once central automation components such as the control system have been discontinued, the clock starts ticking. A timely retrofit avoids a costly total breakdown. And it opens up the opportunity to benefit from the possibilities of digitalization.

Sustainability is a future-oriented issue. The way forward is being set today, and it requires interdisciplinary strategies. It is not always necessary to reinvent the wheel. Two sustainable packaging solutions co-developed at Optima are proof of this. One solution received the German Packaging Award, the other is in the running for the Innovation Award for Climate and Environment by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment.

Heraeus Medical is pursuing ambitious goals. Based in Wehrheim near Frankfurt am Main, the company consistently advances the development of bone cement and has constructed a new building to do just that. Their new bone cement system, manufactured using an assembly and packaging system from Optima Automation, makes work simpler and safer.

The paper hygiene products market and its packaging are undergoing massive change. There are three main drivers behind this, says Oliver Rebstock, the Managing Director of Optima Nonwovens. Is there urgent need for action?

When the pharmaceutical industry started to research vaccines to fight COVID-19 in the spring of 2020, the concern that global manufacturing and packaging capacities would need to be increased arose almost simultaneously. At Catalent Pharma Solutions, a leading development and manufacturing partner to pharmaceutical companies, preparations began to boost vaccine production capabilities.

CSPE reduces the time span between designing the system and the start of production. After numerous turnkey projects involving the use of the turbo booster, Gerhard Breu, Chairman of the Optima Pharma Division, takes stock and gives an insight into how CSPE will become even more effective in the future.

A new design for isolator technology: Metall+Plastic's INTISO is distinguished by the absence of an HVAC unit and the relocation of cooling and ventilation units from the mechanical floor to the isolator plenum. Even its modular construction is innovative. This article shows the advantages and practical application scenarios that result from this.

The French pharmaceutical company Servier is expanding its business model. As it moves towards becoming a recognized player in oncology, as part of its BIO-S strategy it is investing in production capacities for biologics and small molecules. The greatest degree of flexibility possible is ensured by a MultiUse line that can fill injectable solutions into syringes and vials.

One vial, one filling material, one closure – done. But it is not always that simple. In fact, when diagnostic products from bioMérieux are filled, there are four very different media. In 2016, Optima Pharma has developed a specific production line for this. Because of the principle of "never changing a running system", the company has now decided to purchase a duplicate of this system for its Chinese production site in Suzhou.

Optima Pharma has realized a complete vial filling line, including isolators and freeze-drying equipment that is equipped with various digital safety features and mass spectrometry. The customer, a globally active pharmaceutical company, places great value on production reliability and the use of future-oriented technology.

The Indian company USV Private Limited was founded in 1961, and now operates in 75 countries around the world – a success story based on entrepreneurial courage and pharmacological expertise. Since September 2019, USV has had two flexible Optima systems in commercial operation at its site in Daman (India).

The growing biopharma market is an attractive sector for contract manufacturers including Biovian from Finland. The One-Stop-Shop Bio-CDMO has recently expanded its equipment portfolio with a fully automated vial filling line. There were two essential requirements the filling line needed to meet – the system had to minimize losses of valuable therapeutic drugs during filling and fit into the specific physical location in Turku Bioscience Centre.

Personalized tumor treatments are expensive. This particularly applies to individual cancer therapies based on gene-modified T cells. Currently, they are produced manually or, at best, in a partially automated process. In a collaboration project "ProCell for Patient" two hospitals are currently working with Optima Pharma to develop an automated unit for the decentralized production of a CAR-T cell product in treatment centers.

How can we slow down and halt climate change? This question only rarely makes it as far as pharmaceutical manufacturing. However, "classic" refrigerants used in freeze-drying systems are harmful to the environment. What is known as the F-gas Regulation set the course for the European Union as early as 2014, and is still impacting the design of freeze-drying plants today. Optima provides solutions.

When the pharmaceutical industry started research in spring 2020 on vaccines to fight COVID-19, the issue of manufacturing and packaging capacities arose almost at the same time. Requests for suppliers like Optima to provide new sterile fill finish lines with isolators were scheduled to start immediately as emergency drug approvals were granted. 

Optima's new Zero machine platform is the benchmark for high performance, flexibility and modularity. The OPTIMA Zero L1 configuration is used, for instance, to package feminine hygiene and light incontinence products.

The young company Viet Sing produces high quality diapers. Happily, the demand for these diapers is increasing. To increase its capacity, the company invested in state-of-the-art German technology, the basic model DS1 from Optima Nonwovens for diaper packaging. The system, which was delivered two months after ordering, is extremely stable and reduces personnel costs by 50 percent.

A food supplement dosage form committed to health and a positive lifestyle – this was the mission of HERMES PHARMA when presenting its HERMES NutriCaps at the Vitafoods trade show in Geneva in May 2019. These capsules will revolutionize the dietary supplements markets. For the market entry, HERMES PHARMA chose the OPTIMA CFR as its filling machine.

Longer operating time and the highest level of pharmaceutical safety is what is on offer from the latest generation of sterility test isolators STISO. This is mainly due to DECOpulse®, the highly efficient, award-winning bio decontamination system. STISO also scores high points for its ergonomic design and the "Plug & Test" principle.

Optima offers a highly flexible machine platform for packaging paper hygiene products, starting with entry-level versions and specially designed for the Asian market. The latest version of this series – the OPTIMA FS1 – was exclusively developed for feminine hygiene products. A unique aspect of the machine platform is that entry-level models can initially run semi-automatically and later be upgraded to fully automatic systems.

How do you ensure dairy industry filling systems are ready for the future? Maier Packaging has been answering this question since 1985. In a project at Zott, the company from Bergen am Chiemsee has proven its know-how for retrofitting pre-existing forming, filling and closing systems.

PUPSIT filter tests are a regulatory requirement in pharmaceutical production for European markets. Which options and strategies there are for this in systems engineering, what needs special attention in the design, and further background information will be presented below.

The issue of sustainability is becoming more and more important. Recyclable aluminium capsules are very popular. Ahold Delhaize from the Netherlands has also observed this. Consequently, a plastic capsule production line currently under construction has been quickly adapted to meet the requirements for producing aluminum capsules, and this offers a lot of technical features.

Asian freshwater pearls are highly desirable. They have become the namesake of a new system for packaging feminine hygiene products. OPTIMA "Pearl" has been designed to completely meet the requirements of the global manufacturers producing in Asia, with high output packaging in small volumes, which is typical of the Asian market. What is not so typical is the exceptional priceperformance ratio.

Digitalization involves a lot more than just the collection and networking of data. It means that many tools can be used to help pharmaceutical manufacturers achieve their goals. The focus is on maximizing plant availability and high production reliability. To achieve this, Optima Pharma is pursuing three principal strategies.

Robot systems are playing an increasingly important role. These reliable assistants are fully integrated into Optima's filling and packaging systems. All the divisions in the company are using robots in their systems – some of them "cobots", i.e. collaborative robots. However, the scale and utilization can vary greatly.

Everything, anywhere at any time – that is what consumers are demanding. The consumer goods industry is being turned upside down by the Internet and by influencers. The consequence is sharp shifts in demand. New agile processes are needed to counter this trend.

A machine that comprehensively combines several types of robotics and technology. A machine that uses data for process control and optimization, as well as predictive maintenance. And which will be highly flexible for use in applications that have not yet been identified.

Frequent product launches. Small batch sizes. Sharp shifts in demand. The demands on manufacturing companies are increasing. Social media and e-commerce accelerate this trend. 

Plastic film packaging for paper hygiene products can be relied on protect the product and serve its purpose in a dependable way. This packaging is very efficient and the process is a stable one, but the market is changing.

Optima Consumer has developed an innovative concept for the fully automated evacuation, gassing and seaming of baby milk powder containers. This machine concept is the result of extensive market research and it meets the requirements of the infant formula market.

The issue of sustainability is finally here. Packaging has shifted its focus. As a packaging machine manufacturer, we are facing new challenges but nonetheless, ones that can be resolved, by using sustainable, fully recyclable materials that meet the same or higher standards and deliver equivalent result.

The aim of the program, which in the future will bring together the Basic and Smart Services, is to provide customers with rapid, efficient support –  from installation, monitoring and maintenance through to retrofitting their systems.

To date, very few filling and capping machines with isolator technology have been installed in South Korea, let alone in Asia. All of this will soon change. Both Oh-sung Na (Aprogen Biologics) and Peter Kim (Optima Korea) are certain of it because Aprogen is one of the pioneers of this new development.

Pharma 4.0 requires the networking of production systems. Existing systems are also future-proof thanks to virtualization. 

Seven systems, consisting of six lines and a closing machine, are currently under development for Siemens Healthineers and are being installed step by step on two continents.

This process significantly shortens the delivery and commissioning times of complex turnkey systems, and numerous projects have already benefited from it.

Cosmeceuticals are trendy. The medical cosmetics are manufactured by Pierre Fabre, among others.

Read our newsroom article to find out why modularity is booming.  

Christina Weitze and Jan Buck explain how virtual machine models improve software quality. 

Optima Nonwovens has quadrupled its presence in customer service and offers new machine technology.

Dr. Georg Pfeifer and Joachim Dittrich on the need to focus on the digital revolution, the fears of machine operators and the ability to learn "stupid" AI.

How a brief visit became a success story

Filtration solution for Brita installed in China

Major Project with Teva

Hands-on insight at JTI – the InlineCan proves to be the ideal tobacco packaging.

Digital technologies offer great opportunities for the future.

Substantial increase of machine availability for pharmaceutical machinery with reduced H₂O₂ consumption.

Do you have highly potent, very expensive or extremely difficult to fill medical products? The contract filler, Swissfillon, was founded just for you. 

Do you have highly potent, very expensive or extremely difficult to fill medical products? The contract filler, Swissfillon, was founded just for you. 

Everything from One Supplier: OPTIMA life science completes a Complex Turnkey Project

Coffee is a delicate product. In order to prevent the oxidation of the coffee in portion packs, nitrogen gas is used during dosing until the capsules are sealed and the oxygen is removed. 

With its new Optima Total Care portfolio, Optima pushes service to a new level. Service in each phase of the machine life cycle supports production efficiency. 

With its new Optima Total Care portfolio, Optima pushes service to a new level. Service in each phase of the machine life cycle supports production efficiency.