Pfizer in award-win for containment construction
Pfizer's newly built containment (NEWCON) facility used in the production of oral solid dosage form has been named overall winner of the 2008 Facility of the Year Awards (FOYA).
Pfizer's newly built containment (NEWCON) facility used in the production of oral solid dosage form has been named overall winner of the 2008 Facility of the Year Awards (FOYA).
The facility located in Pfizer Manufacturing Deutschland GmbH plant in Illertissen, Germany, was chosen because its design is claimed to achieve a dust-free, fully automated production of film-coated tablets.
The NEWCON facility was built to respond to demand for increased capacity at the Pfizer Manufacturing Deutschland GmbH plant to accommodate growing demand for smoking cessation drug Chantix. NEWCON is a single-floor, single-containment module that can house up to three production trains, with one train currently operational for the production of Varenicline (Chantix, Champix).
The facility was named a winner in part because all of its production equipment is located in a dedicated processing module and is mostly automated to ensure that no dust from the highly potent Varenicline can escape from the manufacturing area.
All of the process stages are controlled and monitored from a separate control room so that employees do not come into contact with dust that might be generated during the tablet production run. This extent of automation has not previously existed in containment production anywhere in the world.
"It is a big honour to be the Facility of the Year category winner in Process Innovation, said Holger Weyhers, Pfizer's head of production, upon being notified of Pfizer's category win. "This is the first time that Pfizer has received an award for process innovation and this is the result of our hard work and innovative thinking."
Other award winners were:
Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co.KG - Facility of the Year Award for Facility Integration
Bristol-Myers Squibb - Facility of the Year Award for Equipment Innovation
IDT Biologika GmbH - Facility of the Year Award for Operational Excellence
F. Hoffmann La Roche AG - Facility of the Year Award for Project Execution
The FOYA awards are organised industry association ISPE, INTERPHEX and the Pharmaceutical Processing magazine.
The deadline for submissions for the 2009 Facility of the Year Awards programme is 1 December 2008.
