Almac Adds High-Speed Clinical Trial Blistering Equipment at US HQ

May 14, 2012

Almac announced today the acquisition of the new PharmaWorks TF3 high-speed / large-format blister equipment.  The addition addresses a growing industry need for outsourced clinical trial services and follows another recent acquisition, the Bosch GKF 702 over-encapsulation machine.  Both pieces of equipment will be housed in Almac’s North American headquarters in Souderton, PA, reinforcing the company’s global capacity by complementing existing equipment currently in the Craigavon, Northern Ireland global headquarters.

The cGMP-compliant equipment provides added value in Almac’s clinical manufacturing capabilities, strengthening the company’s focus on providing clients with a variety of high quality packaging solutions.  In a broader scope, it lends itself to strengthen Almac’s service portfolio that addresses the clinical packaging, labeling, and distribution needs of global clients.

Features of the TF3 include a 220mm x 290mm form area, color vision system, automated seal registration, and a programmable punch station.  The machine is equipped with an automated feeder that can accommodate the input of up to 4 different products (tablets or capsules) simultaneously.  Capable of speeds averaging 50 indexes per minute, this machine provides convenient and efficient tool-less changeovers.

Almac evaluated a number of high-quality vendors when looking into the purchase of the new blistering equipment.  The TF3 was chosen based on its flexible and versatile nature and its ability to most suitably fulfilL Almac’s need to expand to meet the growing needs of global clients.

“The purchase of the PharmaWorks TF3 machine will allow Almac to fulfilL our customer’s needs by increasing our blistering capacity,” said Dan Megill, Director of Operations at Almac.  “This machine offers leading functionality and supplies Almac with a highly flexible format to support our various clients and their packaging needs.

PharmaWorks are at the forefront of forming technology and the support we have received from them has been tremendous.  We are pleased with this acquisition and expect it to contribute greatly to Almac’s overall productivity while enhancing our core services.”

Ben Brower, PharmaWorks VP, also commented “As our tag line on the TF3 brochure states – “No compromise: efficiency and flexibility across the entire spectrum of blisters”. I cannot think of a better summary of the TF3. We have included features and technology to solve many of the pharmaceutical industry’s blister production challenges. From our user friendly interface to our laser seal and punch registration features we feel the machine is state-of-the-art. We are proud to count Almac as a continued customer and partner in providing the highest quality in pharmaceutical blister production.  Almac will be able to offer its customers unparalleled and equal efficiency whether producing HUD type blisters or large BINGO type blisters.

For more information on Almac’s clinical trial supply service portfolio, contact [email protected].

Notes to Editors

The Almac Group provides a broad range of services from R&D, biomarker discovery and development, API manufacture, formulation development, clinical trial supply and IXRS® technology (IVRS/IWRS), to commercial-scale manufacture. Almac provides services to more than 600 companies, including all the world leaders in the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors.  The company employs over 3,300 individuals and is headquartered in Craigavon, Northern Ireland. US operations are based in Pennsylvania, North Carolina and California.

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