The new robots in the land of Leonardo

Precision medicine is destined to trigger major changes in research and clinical practice, in addition to revolutionizing the ways to produce goods and provide services. Pharma Integration, a start-up created as a joint venture with the Swiss company SKAN AG, has intercepted this trend, conscious that the facilities and technologies used thus far for the production of large batches will soon no longer be adequate for the new needs of the pharmaceutical industry. The fully robotized and multifunctional filling line developed by Pharma Integration, mentioned in the interview with the CEO Claudio Bechini, will be able to manage different types of containers (vials, syringes, and cartridges) in their different configurations, with solutions that are the fruit of the Industrial Revolution 4.0. The new technology allows fast format changes (less than 30 minutes, including the sterilization cycle), providing extreme flexibility in the production; a crucial aspect for the production of the small batches required by precision medicine. The robots eliminate human intervention in the processing area, resolving the classic challenge of the pharmaceutical industry: the reduction of the risk of contamination. The modular design allows a process of scaling out from the R&D phase to commercial production, thus reducing technology transfer costs by 94%. The 60% lower operating costs, associated with the reduction of the maintenance and energy consumption costs, make this robotic and compact solution an innovation that was missing from the field for some time. In the land of Leonardo, who designed history’s first robots, innovation continues.