UK pharmaceutical services provider Penn Pharma has invested in its packaging capacity and capabilities to support increased demand for packing and labelling a range of dosage types.
The firm has also re-modelled its existing facilities and added extra rooms for assembly of clinical trials kits, secondary packing and a new label production suite to strengthen its operation in Tredegar, South Wales.
The move follows the announcement in February that the firm would invest £14m in a new high containment facility for the production of tablets and capsules containing highly potent actives.
Penn Pharma’s chief executive, Dr Richard Yarwood, said: ‘We are pleased to be in a position to continue to invest in the existing operations while the new high containment unit is under construction. These new facilities have been designed to meet all current GMP requirements across our broad range of licences.’
The new equipment and expanded facilities will provide capacity to deliver larger contracts for clinical and commercial supplies, including several projects recently won for EU commercial distribution, he added.
Penn has installed three additional labellers including one with the capability to label vials and ampoules automatically. All the new labelling equipment features comprehensive security features including missing overprint presence detection sensors and pharmacode reading systems.
The firm has also added three new tablet counters equipped with high speed infrared sensors for accurate counting of tablets and capsules including transparent soft gelatin capsules.
Blister packing capacity is being increased through the installation of a Klockner CP11 blister machine. The unit is capable of running up to 28 cycles a minute and is being modified to provide cold form capability. This flexible machine will provide short lead times for new pack formats.
