Almac Boosts Capacity and Productivity with Acquisition of New Encapsulation Equipment

Almac, a leading provider of contract services to the global Pharmaceutical and Biotech industries, has addressed a surge in clinical outsourcing by acquiring two new pieces of encapsulation equipment at their North American headquarters in Souderton, PA.  The Bosch GKF 702 capsule filler with integrated KKE 1700 checkweigher comes as a significant investment for the company close to the one year anniversary of the US headquarters’ grand opening.

The acquisition gives added value to the already impressive array of over-encapsulation capabilities offered by the global service provider as part of a complete clinical supply chain management portfolio.  The Bosch cGMP-compliant system is able to produce 42,000 capsules per hour compared to the 2,700-4,500 output of Almac’s current machine in the United States.  Further capabilities of the new equipment include powder, pellet, tablet, and placebo fill as well as multi-fill.  The addition now creates balance between Almac’s EU and US sites by providing the same capacity to handle large and smaller scale projects simultaneously.

“This level of investment in encapsulation technology allows us to expand our capacity within our core services and shows our commitment to our clients,” says Dan Megill, Director of Operations at Almac.  “Bosch was chosen by Almac because they are a leader in capsule filling and weighing equipment with a variety of options.  We are extremely pleased with this acquisition and expect it to contribute greatly to Almac’s overall productivity.”

The KKE 1700 checkweighing machinery strengthens the acquisition by offering comprehensive documentation of the production batches, optimal pharmaceutical security, and a high degree of productivity.

The GKF 702 with its upgraded performance builds on the success of the previous GKF 701 model and the machine offers many advantages for research and development. The machine’s modular design offers the possibility to retrofit any future filling needs and all new filling stations currently in development will be compatible with this machine type.

For more information on Almac’s service capabilities, visit almacgroup.com. Further information about Bosch Packaging Technology is available online at www.bosch.com and www.bosch-press.com.

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.